Equestrian Warfare
by Ash-covered Books
Summary: My name is Aria Spellweaver, Commanding Officer in the New Lunar Republic. That's all you need to know. (R&R, T for war, violence, and strong language.)
1. Prologue

Shouts echoed in the air.

Whimpers and triumphant cheers swirled in the mass of ponies.

She was one of the few in her unit watching the scene. While the others looked away with scrunched eyes, she stared at it all with stoicism.

This was an execution of innocent ponies.

Masked earth stallions hefted the sentenced ponies to the row of nooses. Some had to be dragged due to their unconsciousness. The unicorns had their horns snapped and dark blood caked their faces. The pegasus' wings had been sawed off or broken. The earth ponies had deep lacerations in their legs. They all wore muzzles and they were slung with heavy iron chains. The weight bowed their heads and bent their knees.

Aria shifted, the warmth of the surrounding ponies uncomfortable against her sides. They gave her narrow glares. She ducked her head and her hood obscured her eyes, resigning herself from their attention.

The cavern of a room was full of unicorns. There were few pegasi — they mere pages in the empire. The only earth ponies were the ones sentenced to death and the executioners. Pale colors swarmed the pristine hall. Light cloaks and light eyes.

Colors of purity.

Shades of peace.

All of it a façade to cover the Solar Empire's crumbling reign.

Aria knew that half of the ponies in the chamber had dyed their coats lighter colors to please and fool the empress into a blind trust. Like the stallion to her left; he'd missed patches along his legs, and his dark brown fur was visible through the thick cloud-white paint. Or the mare in front of her; Aria could see that her black tail wasn't completely obscured by golden dye.

The Solar Empire: the society that was run by an immortal and corrupted Alicorn.

Celestia herself was only twenty rows of subjects away from Aria. She stood tall and regal, her aurora mane in an everlasting dance of pure magic and power. Every day passed by her doing and every night was brought forth by the moon and her younger sister, Luna.

But ever since the war had begun ten years ago, the Solar Empire had only known a blistering day. Agriculture was nonexistent due to lack of the farmers and weather pegasi. This resulted in an unfortunate consequence of cannibalism and eating flesh of wild animals.

But most ponies starved, and this brought forth lies and disloyalty.

Aria raised her head, her blue eyes gleaming within the darkness of her white cloak.

The empress was garbed with a bone-white cape, interlaced with gold and pale purples. She wore a black veil, a stark contrast against the brightness of herself and the rest of the world she had created. A massive crown laid upon her head and veins of silver and gold twined themselves through the bone in her horn. Gaudy ropes of silk and medals and diamonds were slung over her shoulders, neck and wings. Delicate golden shoes glistened on her hooves.

Aria did not hear what the tyrant called to her subjects, raising her scepter with sunlight-yellow magic.

She did not see the crying families in crowd as their loved ones' crimes were listed in front of everypony.

She did not feel anything as the executioners slung the nooses around the ponies' throats, leaving the unconscious ones to lay half hung and their choking breaths beginning to sound out. Ruby blood dotted the platform and dripped silently onto the pristine marble floors.

She was Aria Spellweaver.

The Sun empress spread her massive wings and extended her swan-like neck. Celestia lowered her scepter and tapped it onto the ground.

She was a unicorn.

The executioners simultaneously pulled their separate levers, opening the trap doors beneath the victims.

She was twenty-eight years old.

Deafening cracks shattered through the room as the ponies' necks snapped easier than twigs.

She was an elite soldier with no family. Her mother died within the torrent of a fire bomb raid, her father tortured, and her little brothers abducted by guerrillic savages.

Screams sounded out freely from those who were overcome with fear. The rest of the subjects cheered and stomped their hooves.

And she was one with the New Lunar Republic.

Aria gazed straight at the Alicorn. The tyrant stared back; her purple eyes narrowed as if she knew what Aria was and who she was loyal to. One word, and Aria would be dead.

Behind her veil, Empress Celestia smiled.


	2. Chapter 1

Aria rolled to her stomach, pain and adrenalin ricocheting through her limbs. Her ears were ringing and her muscles screamed at her to run. Her eyes burned and her throat was raw.

Beside her nestled into the dying grass was a white pegasus. She had smoke-gray wings and a fire-like mane. Her sides rose and fell evenly as she slept.

Aria tried to calm her racing heart. It was only a dream. Nothing more than that. She slowly lifted herself to her hooves and shuffled into the nearby brush, vomiting. The bile felt like claws gouging out her esophagus.

The sky was a faint gold with purple paint-strokes and orange splatters. Cirrus clouds streaked the atmosphere with blindingly white wisps and a vibrancy of colors that reflected from all around.

The two mares were closer than Aria liked to Solar Empire territory. Even along the borders of the Stellar Alignment and Celestia's domain Aria felt tension squirm in her stomach. She was too far from her princess.

She walked back over to the campsite, crushing the last few embers of the previous night's fire. The air was stained with the stench of smog. Somewhere in the distance a pony shrieked.

For fifteen years the violent war perished Equestria's once peaceful lands. Fields were littered with corpses left for the crows. Rivers were soiled by blood and debris. Forests were scoured down in towering walls of fire leaving behind scorched land. A selfish war that tore all of it away, just because a hunger for control resided in all of the leaders.

Aria's mind gave a warning throb, cutting her thoughts off. She shook her head and the pain receded, leaving her blinking at the dead grass beneath her hooves.

 _How odd_ , her mind muttered. _Where was that trail going?_

"Up already?"

Aria turned abruptly, her magic flaring to life.

"Whoa — _hey_!" Blaze shouted, her wings spreading. She held up her hooves. "It's just me, you hay-snorter!" Aria staggered a step away, her aura flickering silent and she swiveled her ears back.

"Oh," she said. "I thought you were someone else."

"Who?" snapped Blaze, her eyes growing cold. "A Dusk soldier? A Sunrise battalion?" She got to her hooves and shook out her wings. In the smoky air, it looked as if ashes were falling from her dark feathers.

"No," Aria scoffed, grinding a hoof into the ground. "Just...someone." She tossed her mane out of her eyes and she stepped over to the saddlebags that were strewn about. Blaze huffed and began to stretch her legs and stomp her hooves. They beat the dirt in unintentional rhythm with the war drums sounding out in the distance. She stopped for a moment and both mares turned their heads, flinching at the deep rumble of a faraway explosion.

"Marauders," Blaze whispered, watching a heavy plume of smoke rise from the fire bomb.

Aria nodded grimly and continued to pack.

"I'm surprised that King Gyros and King Thorax haven't taken advantage of Equestria's current state," the pegasus muttered, turning away and beginning to organize her own bags. "But I guess their subjects are doing that for them? The leaders wouldn't declare war unless clear reports got to them and if no one got caught."

"Why would they bother?" Aria asked softly. "Equestria no longer has any resources that either of them would want. Not to mention the rumors of the dragon queen Ember planning a siege against all the armies. The changelings and the griffins wouldn't risk such collateral damage."

"Wait — _what_?" Blaze piped, whipping her head towards Aria. "The idragons/i are planning a siege?" Aria glanced at her friend.

"Her Highness forewarned is of this before we set out three days ago." She rubbed her muzzle, irritated. "You never listen yet you're still alive; it's uncanny." She levitated supplies into her bags. Smoke bombs, magic bursts, food, water, enemy documents and war strategies. Miscellaneous weaponry rested in the other bag; daggers, shrapnel to incorporate into the bursts, throwing knives and wing blades for Blaze.

"Why would I need to?" the pegasus grumbled, twisting her neck until a soft pop sounded out. "I know my job, I know how to fight. I don't need to know about these distracting little rumors."

 _And that, my friend, is how ponies die in this war,_ Aria thought in an oddly sad tone. She sighed and dropped her bags onto her back. She grabbed the knife she'd left out and she waved it at her partner.

"No more arguing," she said briskly. "We've got a job to do and that means passing through the Stellar Alignment." She scowled. "Which also includes disguises."

Blaze's eyes narrowed. "Stop threatening me with that crude excuse of stealth. You know how to hide me with that horn of yours."

Aria sighed again, tucking the knife into its sheath on her right foreleg. She faced Blaze, her blue eyes lidded.

Blazing Reign was about three years younger than Aria. She was rude and bossy and rather annoying. But the mare was powerful and a strong ally. She wielded the ability to control fire at will and burn enemies with a touch of her hoof. Sometimes her power got out of control when she was dealing with strong emotions such as fury and grief. She didn't blend very well within the Republic with her flame-like mane and snowy white fur — some were still convinced that she was an agent from the Solar Empire, yet she had sworn her full loyalty to the Moon Princess. She had been a part of Luna's personal guard before Aria had even joined the war. The two had become mission partners and unlikely friends ever since.

Aria's horn began to glow with fiercely bright aura, as if dragonflame had erupted from her soul and out of the bone protruding from her head. Blaze's body began to dull into an awkward shade of purple — it containing a slight pinkish hue along with absurd blue fur-tips. An ugly color, but it would help her blend with the crowds. Her mane lost its volume and grew flat and black. The dismal color ate away the stunning fire-gold with blue wisps, making Blaze grit her jaw. Even her talent mark shifted, it twisting from its regal burst of flame into a brown bow and arrow. She looked down at herself in disgust.

"I loathe the color coordination in the kingdom," she hissed, her purple ears falling flat against her head.

"There is no 'coordination' in Twilight's territory," Aria responded plaintively, her magic wrapping around her knife once more. "You know you can always wear your cloak with the hood up and let me cut your mane and tail until we get back to camp." Her knife darted to her mane, gleaming in the light. It roughly slid through, mahogany locks falling to the earth. "I can always regenerate your mane — you know that."

"I don't want no voodoo hair growth spell on me," the pegasus growled, grabbing her dusk-colored cloak, cringing at it. "I barely accept the magic you cast on me anyway. To alter my appearance to look like some...some _regular_." Aria rolled her eyes and cut off another length of her back mane. It laid rugged and torn against her dark gray fur. She turned her head and slashed off her tail as short as she could make it. She threw her dagger into its sheath and set the fallen hair on fire. She turned away, grabbing her own cloak as Blaze began to cough at the stench.

" _Why_ do you do that?" choked Blaze, flapping her wings. "Why not just leave it or teleport it somewhere else?"

"Because the air isn't getting any cleaner," Aria responded blankly, flipping her hood up. "Might as well make a contribution."

Blaze didn't give her thoughts about that.

The two set out from the site, steering away from the battlefront and heading towards the heart of the Stellar Alignment. The sky began to fade from gold to a darkening purple with faint plumes of lighter colors alongside faint but shining stars.

Aria didn't know much about the kingdom, having only passed through its outer borders to get to the Empire from the Republic and back. She was never sent there for missions or raids, but that didn't bother her. The orderly area wasn't much of a kingdom as much as it was a swathe of land with a castle, a town and three barracks outposted on the main forefronts.

Princess Twilight Sparkle was coronated by Celestia twenty years ago. After five years, Twilight married the head of her personal guard — a pegasus transferred from the north — and established a secure hold on Ponyville. Celestia took her matrimony as a sudden step into disloyalty and banished Twilight from Canterlot; as well as Luna and Queen Cadenza.

Aria paused at that thought. Mi Amore Cadenza was a queen, wasn't she? She held an entire empire to herself up north, she was wed and she had a princess daughter — an immortal — Flurry Heart. But was she ever called _Your Majesty_ or _Queen Cadenza_ within her domain? Or was she always going to just be the Crystal Princess?

Another throb stabbed her temple and she winced, her thoughts falling off into the abyss of forgotten memories within her mind.

Aria glanced over at Blaze, blinking the pain away. The pegasus was clearly fuming, tiny puffs of white smoke escaping her lips as she growled to herself. Blaze wasn't wearing her hood, but when she ducked her head nopony paid her any mind.

The Stellar Alignment was swarming with ponies of all species. Twilight had kept her title as princess, but the add-on _of friendship_ faded away when the famous Elements of Harmony disbanded. Pinkamena went to Celestia and probably ended up dead due to not being a unicorn or a pegasus page. Rainbow Dash and Rarity had stayed with Twilight — Aria believed that the spectrum-maned mare was still busy convincing Cloudsdale to join Twilight's forces to provide an aerial defense. Applejack was a nurse and a defender at the Republic. Nopony knew what had happened to Fluttershy after the first few attacks on the Alignment. Aria couldn't remember where Starlight Glimmer had gone either — perhaps she was still in the kingdom or a lone missionary at her old town on the outskirts of Equestria, or maybe she went to the Crystal Empire to accompany Sunburst, princess Flurry Heart's caretaker.

Aria looked around at the seemingly overpopulated town. Ponies garbed in purples, pinks, blues and magenta were flowing in and out of shops. Soldiers marched in their dusk-colored armor through the center of the roads, the thick and bulky pads they wore blended darkly with their fur in the dim light. Despite the controlled chaos and the slight sense of safety that emitted from the area, Aria could still clearly see where the war had dug its claws in.

Homeless ponies sat out front of some of the stores, few lingered near the trash bins, hoping to find something to eat. Wounded mares and stallions hobbled along with the bustling crowds. Ponies with bandaged legs and heads, pegasi with missing wings and lightning burns, unicorns with snapped horns and no eyes; injuries of all kinds resting in these ponies' hides.

Aria pitied them. They'd chosen the wrong side in the war, and they all obviously knew it. Unfortunately, refugees weren't very lucky when crossing forefronts, and aiding said ponies was clear treason in all the leaders' minds.

Blaze grumbled under her breath about the looming castle in the distance. The crystal and polished stone structure caught whatever light was given and threw it in Aria's eyes, causing her to squint and duck her head.

The pair walked steadily and evenly — too fast of a clip would raise suspicion, and too slow was bound to annoy the others and cause an outburst. Neither of which worth dealing with.

"Where are they?" Blaze suddenly asked, making Aria jump. "Weren't they supposed to be in this bloody kingdom?"

"The veteran was described to be living in unclaimed land," whispered Aria, internally irritated at herself for getting surprised. "They're in a forest about a mile from the Everfree. Apparently they have held a sturdy grasp on their land from the war leaders."

Blaze scoffed, a sneer curling along her muzzle. "Well why don't they choose a side? Why not save us the trouble of recruiting them and just join the clearly superior of all the leaders?"

 _Maybe because they don't want to be allied with Luna,_ Aria thought grimly. She lowered her head as the pair took a side road between a crumbling house and an abandoned store. The alley led out of the town and Blaze ruffled her wings with an exhale from a pent-up breath. The smoke curled from her lips upward into the twilit sky. Excited energy flittered from the pegasus.

Aria could feel it too; the sudden calling towards the Everfree forest. Her princess was in there, defended by her personal guard and a miserable four thousand loyal ponies ready to die for her. Aria would lay her life down endlessly for the moon princess without hesitation.

But she could not return without the veteran. So she swiveled her head away from the tangled mass of foliage and dense, dark trees, and went along the river that flowed around Ponyville. The water glistened with newfound oil and blood, residue from a factory within the town to produce medicine. Aria doubted that was the real product that came from it. The blood more than likely poured from northward. As Aria and Blaze walked, they passed litters of bones covered in garbage and a crumbling bridge, ivy and moss ensnaring themselves into the shattered stone.

Soon after the demolished bridge vanished out of sight, the mares came upon towering trees that stabbed the sky. Nettles laid in blankets around the massive trunks. Their bark was thick and deeply grooved and red in color, sap oozing down the sides. Blaze stepped up to one and sniffed at some of the pinecones that scattered underneath the massive girth of the canopies.

"Hm," she said, kicking one. "Don't see pinecones very often in Equestria." Aria levitated one of the cones and inspected all the ridges and elevated points.

"You don't see these kind of trees in Equestria," Aria corrected. She lobbed the pinecone over her shoulder and it landed with a light plop into the river a few yards away. "You can't burn these ones, Blaze. Not easily anyway; they're Dragon Blood trees. Their sap is full of water to provide resistance to flames." The pegasus scoffed imperiously and squared her shoulders, giving the closest tree her most authoritative glare. She threw her hoof at the tree's dense trunk. Burnt wood and light sparks showered down to the nettles on the ground. A scorched slash mark painted the tree.

"Well dead grass and thick fog," Blaze swore, blinking at her hoof. Aria chuckled and flicked her hood off her head.

"Come on," she murmured. Aria trotted past the burnt tree and entered the small path that curled and cut through the dense forest. Blaze followed behind, muttering as her hooves continued to snag on roots. Aria followed the trail, unsure if she should stray or if she had to just believe in it to lead her to where she had to go.

She shoved the thought aside, but the gnawing in her gut made her pause and turn her head to gaze at the surrounding trees. Thick and twisted bushes clouded the floor and nettles laid scattered all around like pointy brown-orange snow. Ferns fanned silently in the light wind and Aria could hear very faintly the roar of a waterfall. Birds tweeted quietly, still believing that night was approaching. Blaze stopped behind her.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly.

"Well, nothing at the moment," Aria replied, turning her gaze towards the pegasus. "It's just I have this feeling that I'm not going the right way." Blaze rolled her stained eyes.

"What in the fallen lands does that mean?" Blaze asked, letting her voice louden.

"It means I need you to fly above the trees and look for a waterfall... a large clearing with a house, at least." Aria flipped her ears back, feeling a worn edge of annoyance for Blaze. The disguised mare huffed and spread her wings.

 _Try not to get yourself killed,_ she thought softly, her eyes glinting as Blaze took off to the sky. The dark form of her comrade was barely visible through the canopy, her soft wing beats hardly reaching down to comfort Aria.

A long, breathless moment passed of Blaze circling steadily as she surveyed the forest. Around and around and around. It was hypnotic.

Aria could feel her heartbeat thrum through her front legs as the pegasus seized and lost balance for a moment. Had she been struck? Did the Alignment find her?

She let out her breath as the pegasus spiraled down, looking uninterested and unharmed. Her hooves thumped softly to the dirt and foliage.

"Why did you falter?" spat Aria almost the moment Blaze's eyes slid to her. Blaze smirked.

"Because I knew you'd freak out if something happened," she answered smoothly, brushing a wing against Aria. She stepped away, glaring at her. Blaze pursed her lips and then shrugged, resuming her natural displeased face and disgusted attitude.

"Your waterfall is four kilometers towards the southeastern section of the forest," she said blankly, inspecting one of her hooves. "One clearing half a kilometer away from it."

Aria felt her shoulders loosen. The trail was leading them west. She knew her instinct wasn't wrong. She leaped into the brush, crashing through branches and snapping sticks loudly. Blaze cringed at the sudden noise.

"You know," the pegasus began slowly, "you _could_ try to be a little more quiet than that."

"Why bother?" Aria asked, looking back at her as she stepped into the indent in the forest. Aria continued to trot through the thicket, the density of the trees causing her to bump lightly against them. "Unmanaged territory, no scouts, no soldiers."

Blaze paused as Aria caught her eye. After a few short heartbeats, the pegasus smiled wide, the first genuine and positive look she'd given Aria all day. It made Aria felt giddy seeing her companion like that.

Blaze spread her wings as Aria's horn glowed to life, the odd and damaging colors washing away from Blaze's form. Her fur grew snowy, her mane became one with fire, her eyes melted to glistening golden orbs. She grinned at herself and took flight, dodging branches and stretching her wings wide. Aria chased after her.

Unclaimed land in the war was rare. Freedom, much less so. Both cold and worn hearts of the soldiers warmed slightly at the small rush of relief they received from running in the Dragon Blood forest.

It wasn't too long before the roar of the waterfall suddenly engulfed them both, forcing Blaze to the ground and causing Aria to crouch. The grass beneath her was sparkling with droplets, it dampening her hooves. Aria flattened her ears against her head, hoping to muffle out some of the noise.

"Well," shouted Blaze through the thunderous noise, "here's your waterfall!"

Aria could only nod, her brows furrowed as she tried to focus her bouncing thoughts. The cascade was immense. The spray stuck to Aria's fur tips and caught the dim light from above; the sky being an odd combination between day, dusk and night.

The actual waterfall was across an enormous lake at the bottom of a pit. The chute poured from a gouge in the side of the cliff. Aria and Blaze were on the opposite side of it, yet it held so much sheer power as it burst through the cliff it was as if they were inside of it. Aria tried to see past the spray flinging itself into her eyes, focusing her gaze over the grassy overhang right above the water. Just barely could she see the large, wooden and brick house with what looked to be two stories and equipped with two extensions on either side.

 _Why would they live so close to this massive downpour?_ Aria thought dully against the pounding in her ears. _Just a short run away there's a peaceful clearing. Why here?_

Aria's horn began to glow with her orange aura. The roar of the falls began to soften in the mares' ears and then it became no louder that a heartbeat.

"Why didn't you do that sooner?" Blaze snapped a second after Aria cast the spell. Her ears flapped and flicked and twitched. "Gah, now it feels as if I've got a cotton stuffed in 'em."

"Oh, shut your snout, you big filly," Aria muttered, stepping up to the cliffs edge and peering down.

Far below, surrounded by sheer gray walls was a shore to the top right side of the lake. Waves from the waterfall's entering point lapped eagerly at the rock shelf. Aria shook herself but the spray clung to her fur, dampening her mane and soaking deep into her skin until she involuntarily shivered occasionally. Droplets dripped from her horn and chin. As hard as she looked, she couldn't see beneath the surface of the lake. Only tumultuous ripples and splashes.

"Hey," said Blaze. Aria turned her head to find the pegasus using a wing to shield her eyes as she looked straight at the water. "There's something shining within the mouth of the cave up there."

Aria stepped closer to the mare and shifted her head closer to Blaze's. The pegasus stiffened slightly, clearing her throat uncomfortably. Aria frowned as she stared at the entrance of the waterfall. A sudden gleam of silver caught a lone ray of light and announced itself to her.

 _It's artificial,_ her mind breathed.

"Those are turbines, aren't they?" Blaze whispered, her golden eyes growing cold. "This whole thing is just a little display for visitors."

Aria didn't respond, she at a loss for words.

A singular veteran, alone in an unclaimed forest and living behind a fake cascade. How in the world did they manage it?

Blaze suddenly whipped away, her ears pinned back in fury as she stomped into the treeline; following a cobblestone trail. Aria whinnied in surprise and trotted after the pegasus.

"Blaze? Blaze, what's wrong?"

"This is a stupid mission!" she spat, fire flicking off her tongue. "Her Highness doesn't need a disgusting, prideful and self-centered old goat in her army! She has us, Aria. She doesn't need any pony else." Blaze snarled and the droplets along her fur and body began to evaporate away from her.

"Blazing Reign!" Aria called, her mind a whirlwind of confusion. Why was she so worked up over it? "Blaze, we can't just disobey Her Highness!"

The pegasus stopped and one of her wings smacked hard into Aria's chest. Aria halted and looked at the mare, flabbergasted.

" _What_ has gotten into y—"

"Shh!" she hissed. She pointed ahead, towards a small thicket of young trees and thorny shrubs. Aria allowed herself to look and felt her shoulders tense up.

A pitch black pegasus was hunched over, her silver-gray mane and tail catching what little light came through the canopy overhead. Her wings were partly outstretched and her soft murmuring barely reached Aria. It sounded like gibberish. Scattered around her were three bags: one held vials of variously colored liquids; another was stuffed with an array of clear bags and dried herbs as well as freshly pulled plants; and lastly the final bag had four books inside, page corners folded and numerous multi-labeled bookmarks shoved in between. A flash of red caught Aria's eye and she tried to see clearer, but from what she could manage, the mare's talent mark was a small beaker filled with bubbling crimson liquid.

Blaze was the first to speak up.

" _Hey_!" she barked, flaring her dark wings fully. Aria stepped aside to avoid getting smacked in the snout. She grit her jaw, giving her companion an irritated glare. She knew that pegasi had this odd way of showing dominance over one another — puffing out their chests and spreading their wings like a bunch of frustrated pigeons. Unicorns had so much more dignity than that. "What are you doing here?"

The mare flinched and her voice cut off. She turned her head and one large pale eye stared at the two through her bangs. Her wings folded tightly to her sides, immediately making her appear smaller than what she was.

 _Typical, stupid pegasus hierarchy,_ Aria thought bitterly, adjusting herself to seem more resigned and formal than Blaze.

"Excuse me?" the other pony squeaked. She hesitantly stood erect, moving slow like a pony would against a dragon. Aria hated to admit that she appreciated the fear from her. It showed that the pair weren't complete embarrassments to the Republic.

"What are you doing here?" Blaze growled again, narrowing her eyes.

"I live here," the mare answered instantly, now facing the two. A thick bandage was woven tightly around her foreleg. The leg tilted up as all her pressure was balanced between her other three hooves.

Blaze blanched at her words, her wings lowering slightly.

" _You_?" she choked out. Her eyes briefly met Aria's.

 _She's the veteran?_ Aria's brain asked itself. _She can't be. She's far too young. It's impossible. She's a..._

"Liar," Aria's voice murmured, it coming out in a tremble. Her lips squeezed shut and bright embarrassment colored her cheeks. That was supposed to remain unspoken.

The mare's eyes narrowed, her pale irises gleaming. "I'm sure I'd be the one to know if I live here or not," she huffed indignantly. "Who are you two? You're not customers are you? Are you lost?"

"I'm Blazing Reign," Aria's comrade said in a low and shaking voice. She took a step forward. "Personal guard of Her Highness Luna, fourth division, _hoof-selected delegate of the New Lunar Republic._ " Her breath was palpable, heat filling the area and soft flickers of fire threatening to escape her maw.

The black pony's face hardened with something else — anger, no longer tight with fear. Aria's ears swiveled back defensively, readying herself for an assault.

 _Not that she'd be much of an opponent..._

"You're a part of the war?" the dark pegasus asked.

"Yes," Blaze nearly shouted, causing Aria's magic to flicker. "We're all a part of this war, you Alignment scum!"

"What is going on here?" a deep voice said behind Aria and Blaze. The fire pegasus whipped her head around, light smoke pluming from her nostrils. The black mare shoved between the soldiers and limped up to the source of the question: a bright red earthpony stallion. He had a black vest over his shoulders, a satchel, and a light gray mane and tail. A metallic chain with a silver ring rested around his neck and on his chest. He frowned slightly and stood in front of the other pony.

Aria side-stepped ahead of Blaze and looked into the stallions brown eyes. He calmly stared back.

"Who are you?" he asked finally.

"We're —" Blaze started, a sudden wave of heat singeing Aria's side.

"Blazing!" she barked, pushing her ears forward. She stood still, her eyes now on the pegasus. Blaze seemed shocked. "Silence yourself."

The tension was stifling. A mare with clear behavior issues who could easily burn down the whole forest, a strong-looking earthpony, and what seemed to be a skilled alchemist — albeit an injured one. Aria had never studied alchemy. The mere fact of it was nearly nonexistent in the Republic.

Aria felt her insides relax as Blaze stepped down, lowering her head and ears and glaring at the uneven stone trail.

"Sir," Aria acknowledged at last, turning her attention back to the stallion. His ears perked slightly. "We are missionaries and soldiers from the New Lunar Republic under a strict order by Her Highness Luna to retrieve a veteran who has been explained to live here. Do you know of their whereabouts and if you could bring them to us?"

The pony blinked and his mouth tilted as if he were confused. Aria wondered if she had spoken too fast.

"I'm Powder Flask," he said instead, cracking a smile. "The veteran? Yeah, she lives here." He humorously lifted the chain around his neck. "Married to her, actually. Minkeru, go get her, ok?"

"But —"

"Now, please," he cut her off gently. "It's all right."

The black pegasus flicked her ears back, her pale eyes jumping from Powder to Blaze to Aria. Her about wrinkled in disdain and she hobbled up the path, her wings unfurling slightly to keep her balanced. Aria caught sight of an ugly burn along one of her sides. She cringed. No wonder the young pony had taken almost immediate hatred towards Blaze.

"I'm sorry," Powder Flask said, breaking Aria's focus. She stole a glance at Blaze. She was hunched over, haunches on the ground and clearly fuming. Aria was worried she was going to snap soon. She'd always been such a hothead. "Minkeru has been a little disturbed by the war."

"It's no worries," Aria responded. "Young ones don't take kindly to violence anyhow. It's not unnatural." Blaze snorted, and Aria ignored her.

"Well you must understand," he said, taking a look over his shoulder. "Losing part of your home to Princess Twilight and Princess Luna and seeing funeral pyres isn't a very luxurious life."

"Sir," Blaze spat, not lifting her head. "As a soldier, I see gore-slathered weapons and gruesome wounds _daily_. Your little student will need to learn all this eventually; sooner is always better than later in this case. And if anything," she added, her golden eyes raising to catch the muddled light, "she should be in the war. Her talent is alchemy, right? She could thrive in the Republic as a nurse. We use the forests to gather medicinal plants to aid our injured. We have ponies who could teach her to care for our fallen." Powder's ears folded back.

"Minky's only fifteen," he said, guarded. "I'd never allow her to go through that kind of scarring."

"We have _fillies_ in this war," Blaze shot back. His frown deepened.

"Please don't let them take you," Minkeru's voice sounded from up the path. Powder Flask and Aria turned to greet the upcoming ponies while Blaze got to her hooves and shook out her wings. "They're all monsters! They'll kill you!"

Aria frowned. She was _not_ a monster. Another noise — the voice of the veteran, she had to suspect — reached her ears. It was soft and melodic, seeming to warm Aria's spine. It comforted her.

But that much comfort from a voice alone brought a deep gnawing in Aria's chest of foreboding.

Blaze's wings pressed tightly to her sides, her eyes narrowing as the two ponies stepped up to the trio. Aria tilted her head, confused.

The pony beside Minkeru was...small, to say the least. She barely beat the black pegasus's height, and she was definitely smaller than Blazing Reign. Her mane was tied up messily, it shining beautifully like mercury. Her fur was white; unstained in any place that Aria could see. Her shoulders were strong, as well as her wings. Her name's bangs fell neatly over her right eye, obscuring it completely. Sweet wrinkles appeared when she smiled politely at the soldiers. The veteran wore an identical ring and chain around her neck and a pastel-blue sweater complemented her form nicely.

What caught Aria off guard was her one visible eye. It had a black and white pupil and a cream-colored iris. It was soft deep inside, but the edge grew stern after she had completely looked the two over.

"Hello," she greeted, obviously betraying her thoughts on Aria and Blaze. Her voice was like the last note after striking a bell, low and engulfing. "My name is Silver Star. My daughter tells me that you've been sent here to find me."

Aria didn't find peace in the light and calmness that surrounded this mare: her sense of youth and purity was so easy to accept yet she knew she couldn't be so. If this was the veteran, where was the feel of pride that radiated from every battle-won soldier? Where were her scars?

 _Unless she fought and came home unscathed_ , Aria thought, feeling detached.

"You're the veteran?" Blaze asked, cutting into Aria's thoughts.

Silver nodded and Minkeru glared at Blaze with such venom that Aria was tempted to press her dagger to the young-one's throats and tell her to leave.

"That's impossible," Blaze spat, as if the words tasted like soiled hay. "You look hardly older than I am. There's no possible way you could have fought in the wars last recorded." She broke the lock on their eyes and glared at Powder. "Where's the real veteran? I'm sick of this stupid game."

"She _is_ the veteran," he said, exasperated.

"Yes," Silver murmured, a hint of amusement in her voice. She idly brushed a strand of mane out of her face and Aria attempted to be as discreet as possible to catch a glimpse of her other eye. "Forty battles, seven wars. All won." Blaze sputtered in shock.

"Four wars?" she panted. "Blasphemy."

If Silver Star was insulted, she didn't show it.

"Believe what you will," she sighed. "But please, inform me of these summons. I must go back to my son." She looked more bothered than before, her visible eye lidding in annoyance.

Aria already didn't want to invite her into the Republic. Not because she was supposedly ancient and an impeccable fighter, but because of the clear fact she had family. If any one of the enemy sides found out about them, they could easily overtake them and use them to control Silver Star. It was too great of a risk to take.

The awful twinge in her mind sentenced the overthought order to slip from her lips into the air.

Everyoony looked at her, the strangers' eyes darkening. Blaze only glanced at Aria before lifting her chin.

 _Too smug_ , Aria thought.

"Luna?" Silver asked at last. "She wishes for me to have an audience with her?"

Aria nodded, her heart racing. Silver had grown cold. The air was tense and she could feel the waves of anger tumbling off Blaze at the informality in which the veteran spoke Her HIghness's name. She tentatively lifted a leg to block her companion but flinched away, the heat scalding her.

"Tell her I refuse."

"What?" she asked, astonished. "You can't just refuse a meeting with a war-leader. Much less a princess!" Silver's eyes grew stony, making Aria's magic spark in hesitation.

"I just did," the veteran growled. "I want nothing to do with the royalties. Let them kill themselves in this stupid skirmish for all I care." She turned away, nickering to both Minkeru and Powder Flask. The stallion gave the two soldiers an apologetic shrug and followed Silver Star.

Blaze flared, her golden eyes growing dark. An indignant flush painted her face red. Aria stepped ahead of Blaze before she could lunge at the receding ponies, and galloped after them. Silver snapped her head head towards her and Aria skidded over the rocks to a stop. The two mares stared at each other for a long moment.

 _Do not return until you have the veteran._ Her Highness's words echoed in Aria's ears. _By any means necessary. Bring me the veteran._

Silver broke the silence, her visible disgust disheartening.

"When and where am I supposed to meet with Luna?" Aria frowned.

"Why don't you address her by her title or at least with an ounce of respect?" she asked cautiously.

"I belong to none of these blasted rulers," Silver stated coldly. Powder motioned for Minkeru to follow him away, he turning a worried glance to Silver. She didn't acknowledge him and he took that s his cue to leave her. "No stupid alicorn owns me. I am under no law of theirs that they lay."

"Shut your forsaken mouth!" Blaze shrieked, darting forward. Aria flinched momentarily and then swung a hoof out, ignoring the heat coming off her. She threw the pegaus to the ground with a thud and winced, leering at the burns on her hoof. The pegasus groaned, her ears flat but her jaw was grit tight with pain.

Silver looked at them with what seemed to be pity.

"Is there _any_ way I can persuade you to at least meet with Her Highness?" Aria asked, panting slightly.

"Unfortunately," Silver muttered, her snout wrinkling.

Aria dared to smile. "And what might those circumstances be?"


	3. Chapter 2

Equestrian Warfare

Chapter Two

"By the stars above, what's happened to you two?" the deep purple unicorn asked, his royal blue eyes wide. He lowered his pike and frowned, his torn ears swiveling forward as the mares lifted themselves off the trimmed grass.

Aria Spellweaver returned his frown, though seeing the stallion made her nerves lighten just a little. Blaze however tightened her wings to her sides and wrinkled her snout.

High above them, glimmering dimly through the canopy, the moon was in her dying phases — half of her obscured and the other glowing proudly. Though the light around them didn't come from the moon; instead small lanterns hung in the gnarled trees' branches, casting halos of brightness every few paces.

Aria remembered hearing the mothers in the Republic whisper to their foals that it wasn't fireflies within the glass orbs nor dragonflame, but the souls of unicorns who had sworn allegiance to Her Highness and died respectfully for Luna's cause. She remembered watching Her Highness murmur into each lantern, and it suddenly flaring to life in a brilliant burst of color. It always mystified her.

"Nothing that we couldn't handle," Blaze snapped at him, pushing past the unicorn and the two other guards. She crossed the bridge that was slung between two ledges and over a misty abyss, trying to stay regal and imposing as it wobbled and swayed under her hooves. Aria had no idea why she didn't just fly.

"Apologies," Aria said to the guard. He rolled his eyes and gave her a half smile. "She meant no disrespect, Shadowbane."

"No need to cover for her," he replied with a laugh. "Reigny's just a hothead."

"Yes," she answered haphazardly, thrown off by the nickname.

"So…." Shadow started, but his voice trailed off when he caught sight of what was behind Aria. He met her eyes and shut his mouth, nodding solemnly and stepping aside to let her and her entourage pass.

"I'll explain it soon enough," she whispered to the side as she stepped onto the first plank of the bridge. The other unicorn didn't respond, returning to his ridged guard stance as Aria passed.

The New Lunar Republic was located in the Everfree forest, a vast swathe of vegetation that was littered with massive amounts of resources. The moon never went down in the Republic; though when a warfront got too close, distant glimmers of the dawn would creep over the furthest trees on the horizon. Although the moon never moved, she still disappeared and returned, brighter than ever after every cycle. The moon's cleansing light seemed to fuel Her Highness's soldiers to their greatest potential. It was as if Luna herself was the moon and her leadership brought her army glory and power.

 _Much more powerful than any other,_ Aria thought, her eyes locking with the silver orb in the sky for a moment. She tried to ignore the sounds coming from behind her as she made her way to the castle. Its spires stabbed at the deep cloak of midnight blue above — poking the stars and embedding into the heavens. As Aria paused to look at the spires, she saw dark shapes flit around them like bats. She knew they were just messengers, but she was always curious how silently the pegasi could fly in such a hurry.

Blaze's wingbeats are always loud and obnoxious. She could use a few lessons.

Aria nodded to both Crimson Lock and Hourglass as she approached the main doors to the castle. They were the guards posted for the hour and she'd known them since training. They gave her company curious looks but allowed their entrance. Aria herself had abandoned her cloak and one saddlebag, keeping her dagger sheath and sword as well as the bag that held her assignment papers and plans. The sounds of hooves hitting marble floor encased her and she felt her jaw tense.

The throne room was a mere walk from the front gates, but Aria knew that Her Highness was rarely stationary and was always busying herself in the war room. She snorted slightly, amused. Why would any leader waste their time sitting in an uncomfortable chair when they could work at winning their fight?

Aria took a glance behind her to make sure Silver Star was still following. The white pegasus had said practically nothing the entire journey, and it unnerved Aria how silently she walked on the floor; as if her hooves were made of fog and held no form.

The castle itself inside was rather empty; only a long teal rug, pedestals adorned with midnight blue and silver vases and a few tapestries that held patterns of constellations and the phases of the moon decorated the vast space around. There was no sign of Princess Luna's older sister, not even ancient stained glass windows that used to be inside had any mention of Celestia. Above the corridor there was an opening that went through all the floors of the castle up into a circular hole in the ceiling about seven wingspans in diameter. The moon shone directly in the middle of it, casting pale light into the castle. The tips of the surrounding three spires peeked faintly against the casting of twinkling stars. The air inside was cold and crisp, just the way it should be.

Aria stopped in the middle of the pool of light the moon opened into the room, lifting her head and letting her light wash over her sore body. It dripped into her fur and seeped into her skin, filling her with unimaginable peace. Blaze was standing somewhere nearby, she was sure due to the feeling of daggers digging into her sides. Blaze had always hated the ritual the republicans did whenever they entered the moon princess's castle, mainly because for some odd reason she did not get the same peace they did. Aria believed it was because the pegasus had no intention of relaxing at any given moment.

"You done, pretty pony?" Blazing snarkily snipped, standing in front of the war room's giant doors. Ribbons of silver embroidered with midnight blue swirled in the shape of half-folded wings on the doors. A single white star was split in two between them. Aria turned her head and shook herself, leaving the warmth of the moon and stood beside Blaze. A sudden chill encased her chest.

 _This was inevitable…._

* * *

The silence in the room was deafening. Not even the war table made any noise as everypony was sentenced to a death so painful that their heartbeats were steadily freezing in each chest.

Perhaps only Aria felt this way.

The galactic princess; the almighty moon goddess Luna, was in utter disgust as she looked upon them. She stood still as her mane flowed slowly; shooting stars and the edge of the moon were visible, as well as nebulas in her tail and asteroids floating aimlessly through space. Her piercing turquoise eyes were ice as they flicked and locked to everypony. She was garbed in deep blue robes, sashes of stunning silver and darker grays were slung over her shoulders and body. The accents of jewelry were her crown, which had each phase of the moon in stone, and her silver collar-necklace that was laced with teardrop diamonds. A deep blue veil covered the back of Luna's physical mane, clipped to her crown. Her hooves were cloven in metal shoes, half fleur-de-lis formed within the thinner areas. Etched faintly were scuffs from them being worn down and at the corner of each of Luna's eyes there was weariness. Yet still, everything about the alicorn presented perfection.

Aria's heart trembled weakly in her throat as sweat gathered on the back of her neck. Her ears twitched. Her breath wavered. Never in her life had she been this nervous. Princess Luna's legs and neck and wings were stiff with a terrifying amount of fury.

Aria turned her head with a wince as she took in what Luna was certainly going to kill her over.

Silver Star stood as tall as she could, her shoulders straight and her chin raised. The dim lights in the room illuminated her like a phantom, a pale glow seemingly surrounding her mane, wings and legs. Something old and fierce flickered in her visible eye; something that never died along with those around her.

However she was not the only pony who was receiving the full force of the moon princess's malevolent gaze.

An ashen gray pegasus, riddled with scars and old bandages and a mane like blood stood nearly two heads taller than Silver. She was large, toned and bulky with visible power. Pointed teeth under a wicked snarl that curled her lip back sent a cold river of anxiety down Aria's legs. The pegasus was a strong flier — her shoulder muscles bulging and rippling as she moved. But she did not lock her eyes on Luna. Aria could slightly catch a glimpse of a raggedy black bandana tied around her right eye as she turned her gaze anywhere but the princess.

Another mare, a unicorn, with fur just like Her Highness glared at the princess. Black, jagged hair sliced over her black and white eyes, and her tail was absurdly short. An old cigarette in her teeth was gnawed to a crumpled mess yet it still stained the air with its putrid odor. A couple of pale red scars maimed her, but the only truly noticeable one was on her left cheek, slitting too close to her eye. She wore a white scarf, stained with dried blood and possibly even gore.

The tall and lanky unicorn unnerved Aria the most. Obscured mostly in dark wrappings and a cloak, the pony with a hardly visible black and white mane was nearly as tall as Luna — taller than if they tried to stand fully erect. Their head bobbed, their body creaked, and the pony's horn flickered faintly with pale gray magic. Their eyes were covered by the hood of the cloak that hung loosely over their skinny, arched back. The only fur noticeable was that of their muzzle, which seemed to be a dusty white like long-forgotten scrolls.

Lastly there was a crouched mare, her ears flat against a silver-white mane tied up in a bun. She bowed herself, the only one with any sort of respect toward the princess. She was also a unicorn, but exceedingly younger than everypony else in the room. Aria felt wary of the thin unicorn; her fur was glossy and full, unscarred like Silver, yet something about her was off. Was it that she had no talent mark or was it that her only adornment was a small silver chain necklace with a pure white crescent moon charm? Whatever it was, Aria didn't like the youngling.

Truth be told, she hated them all. She didn't understand why Luna couldn't just trust in her and Blaze to protect the Republic. Or her already powerful army. She knew the princess went into battle herself more often than not. Besides, nothing (and _no one_ ) could match the power of an alicorn. Aria didn't know why she needed these dusty, strange ponies. Because they were older, they were prone to become a casualty. That's why ponies were set into battle training at the age of six and put into the war at ten. There was no room to waste resources on four mares and one... whatever it was, only to have them die relatively quickly.

"Aria Spellweaver."

Aria flinched. She turned her head towards Princess Luna. The alicorn wasn't looking to her, only locking eyes with Silver Star. The smaller pegasus frighteningly stood her ground, leaving a coldness to fill the room.

"Y — yes, Your Highness?" Aria answered, lowering her head respectfully. Her words seemed light and small compared to Luna's strong voice.

"You come to my domain with four ponies too many," the moon princess said, softer. Her words still stung in Aria's chest and fear nearly crippled her as the midnight blue unicorn to her right huffed. "I asked for _one_ pegasus veteran. One mare. Yet here I am with two outlaws, an unholy offspring and a foal." She sniffed, displeased at the light whimper that came from the crouched unicorn.

"Your Highness," Aria whispered, "I meant only the best intentions for this —"

"Silence." Princess Luna briefly set her gaze on the unicorn and Aria squeezed her eyes shut, pain pinching at her temples. "You did, however, do your assigned job. I am relieved to know that this little pegasus has managed to stay alive all these years."

Silver's visible eye narrowed.

Aria bowed her head again as the seizing pain lifted just barely. "Yes, Your Highness. The veteran Silver Star was reluctant, and this was the only way we could bring her as your audience."

"Personally, I think she's just a coward and needed a bunch of misfits to back her up," Blaze piped sourly, turning her gaze to Princess Luna. "If she's so important then she definitely does not need these four." She swept out a smoky wing with a faint _whoosh._

Aria carefully adverted her eyes towards one of the mares. Her view landed on the crouched unicorn, bowed in fear.

 _Respect,_ she suddenly thought with burning agony. She grit her jaw and tried to ignore the prick of tears. She absently rubbed at her right temple, making no noise as the pain receded. _That mare simply knows how to respect the mightiest of alicorns._

Yet she wanted to confront her. She wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her, shouting _"What are you doing in this war, you idiot?! Have you no sense of personal safety? Where are your parents? Go home, you stupid, stupid filly!"_ Aria stiffened in her spot beside Blaze, her shoulders seizing up. She couldn't say any of that. Not now; not ever. Every word of that thought was treason.

"Excuse _me_ ," the midnight blue pony snapped, her jagged and stained teeth flashing and shocking Aria out of her thoughts. "I was told I was gonna be meeting up with a _princess._ Not some giddied-up cry horse picking a fight with a filly who doesn't know a spear from a log; a mentally challenged, deranged lovelord and a bucking, bloodied _hot mess._ " She snorted, her strange eyes digging into Her Highness.

Aria was taken aback by how low she thought of the alicorns; if she belonged to any of the princesses, then it'd be no surprise if that pony had a bounty on her head. Maybe she really was an outlaw if she was so clear about her displeasure of them all.

Luna merely raised her head as her ears pricked forward. One word, and the unicorn would be hung.

"I see," Her Highness murmured, surprising Aria. "And what is your name?"

"Sanako Helsin," the mare said.

"Ah, yes," Princess Luna acknowledged with a small nod. "I remember you, blood spiller. Quite a hefty gut you must hold to be able to kill _foals_ just to stay alive for this long."

Sanako stopped chewing her cigarette. Her inverted eyes were wide with shock. Luna met her gaze, as calm as a frozen lake.

The silence began its awful reign once more. Her Highness was no longer stiff with anger and an imperial smugness seemed to emit from her. Aria withheld a smile as Blaze coughed over a snicker. Her Highness was going to win this standoff: not that Aria had believed otherwise.

"And you, Amnesty," Princess Luna said to the gray pegasus, her attention abandoning Sanako. The mare's one eye widened. "Are an assassin. So in that case, requesting your unwanted help wouldn't be anything new, correct?"

"My name is _Anna,_ " she snarled, her voice like distant thunder. Despite her name, if Aria had to judge her solely based on her looks and voice, she'd have guessed the pegasus was male.

 _It's an ironic name for somepony so...bloodthirsty,_ Aria thought, lightly biting the inside of her cheek. She took as minuscule of a step away from the bulky pony as she could.

"Yes, yes," Her Highness cooed, putting out her lip to emphasize her true meaning. She waved her hoof and began to walk slowly around the seven mares, her wings resettling at her sides. "A boring edit from Amnesty. Yet I distinctly remember you creating such a mess of my general a few years ago. The courtyard stones are still stained to this day."

Aria swallowed back the sudden burst of bile in her throat. She remembered that event.

"Well," the mare said roughly, rubbing a scar under her metal choker with a rusted chain. She had two identical bracelets on her forehooves, each with a discolored chain. "Cadenza pays rather well."

"Hmm," the princess replied. She stopped beside Anna and inspected her hefty wings. Luna seemed to be displeased. Aria felt her legs tense up whenever she looked at the princess's stunning eyes scroll over anypony but herself. She longed to feel the chill they sent into her skin as if they emitted icy air that engulfed Aria in cold wings.

"Now," the alicorn muttered as she moved herself behind the wrapped creature. She lifted a shadowy tendril of cloak in her magic. "Who might _you_ be, stranger?"

A flash of bright white and orange lit up the room as Aria's heart leaped into her throat.

Pressed firmly against unscarred white fur was Aria's dagger, the blood-red blade a stark and sudden contrast on Silver Star. The pegasus's teeth were bared as she wrinkled her snout and peeled her lip back like a miniature wolf. Aria panted hard as the fear of displeasing Her Highness grew heavier and heavier in her stomach. She was surprised how hard it was to hold her ground against the smaller mare as her body was squeezed between the alicorn, Silver and whatever the cloaked being was. Her blue eyes were locked onto Silver as she caused Luna to drop the creature's coverings and recede a few steps, her midnight-colored wings unfurling.

The moment she moved away however, Silver backed down as well, her eye narrowing as it watched the princess.

 _I can hardly imagine what would've happened if I hadn't been here for Her Highness,_ Aria thought, aiming her dagger at Silver as she stepped beside Blaze once more. Her comrade seemed to be surprised at the little standoff that had just occurred and her darker wings were ruffled in surprise.

 _But still...she's an alicorn. Silver Star is just a pathetic, overly confident pegasus pony. Why is she so afraid of her?_

Silver was now standing ridged in front of Luna, just ahead of her hodgepodge group of mares. Princess Luna's ears were flicked back, a minute sign of submission in this awful battle. Silver seemed to notice this and her powerful wings spread and her ears pushed forward.

Aria lifted her dagger again but the brief flash of cool on her fur made her eyes jump to her princess's. They were locked onto her and she noticed one clear message in them.

 _Do not interfere._

A long, painful pause passed silently between all the ponies. Anna was tensed up, her wings half-spread as her head was tilted towards Silver. Sanako was grinning a little, her horn glowing with white aura. The crouched mare had stopped shaking and seemed to peek under her foreleg up at the cocky pegasus. The covered creature's head was pointed at her as well.

Aria and Blaze hadn't moved, but Blaze was puffing light smoke and the heat radiating off her sides was scalding Aria's ribs. Aria herself was in a stance that would get her to her princess in the fastest way possible if she was needed.

Not a moment later did Silver's group retreat a little further back and Luna advanced forward, her ears and wings displaying her personal pegasus hierarchy and her eyes narrowed and glittering dangerously. The mare's glared into each other's eyes for a long, violent moment.

"Spellweaver; Reign," the ruler stated suddenly, jolting Aria's mind to run blank. Blaze's heat immediately cooled down at her side. "Take them all to the main camp. Except…." Her gaze landed on the still-bowing unicorn. "All except the quivering foal. Leave that one here."

Anna and Sanako's eyes widened as they glanced over to the youngling. Sanako's horn briefly flickered and Anna placed a hoof on the mare's shoulder; the gentlest gesture Aria had seen from her the entire trip. The unicorn slowly lifted her head and two large eyes met Aria's.

Her irises were so dark that they nearly melted into her pupils; but with the faint lights in the war room, Aria could see the bluish highlights dance in her eyes. The little unicorn slowly got to her hooves and she looked at the others nervously.

Out of the corner of her eye, Aria saw the lunar princess grin. She didn't want to acknowledge how unhappy her smile was.

"And get these creatures ready for my army."


	4. Chapter 3

"Across that mud field you'll find the training grounds where you will experience life within a trench as well as open fire; you will also learn all the tactics necessary for battle. Three kilometers west there's the main fort which lies along our border with the Sorceress's. Whether you are deployed there or not depends on how well you can adapt to the base lifestyle of our territory."

Aria trudged in front of her ghastly ensemble of rag-tag mares. All four of them were vile, awful creatures sent from the underworld. Even the little one back in Luna's presence and the cloaked and bandaged one most of all.

"We run on nighttime only — obviously, for the moon never sets in our Republic — and we keep track of the nights with a clockwork system of the standard twenty-four hours. Every seventh bell toll we eat our portions at the main tent about a mile from Her Highness's castle. There is the serving tent and five eating areas. You are allowed to hunt if you so wish, but we've been warned by King Aspen of the deer to keep off his subjects. We abide strictly and if you decide to hunt deer anyway, it is a crime punishable by death.

"The sleeping grounds are stationed all around Princess Luna's castle for we are her fortress and her guards," Aria said with a brief sweeping motion to her left at the scattered black and blue tents. "We sleep from the eleventh bell roll to the first, and on nights we go to war we sleep only from the first to the second toll. If we come home later than the second, we do not rest. We can go without sleep for days at a time so do not complain or you will be punished as seen fit.

"When you all go to battle you are enforced to wear New Lunar Republic gear and regalia. If you refuse, not only will you be punished by our princess herself, but you will more than likely be succumb to not-so-friendly fire for not everypony will get the pleasure of meeting you and being able to identify you all as our own."

Aria took a breath and stopped walking through her muddy home. She looked back at the mares who also froze in their tracks. Unsurprisingly, Silver Star was a few paces ahead of the others; Sanako and Anna were side by side and the cloaked unicorn was one pace behind them. It was impossible not to feel her mouth stretch into a grimace looking at them all in their... horrid clusterbuck of a group.

As she stood judging them, Aria could not help but notice that Sanako had enflamed another cigarette.

"Also, our smoking policy," Aria stated, staring straight at the midnight blue unicorn. "Everypony is allowed one pack of cigarettes a week, for too much of the stench and tainted air could begin to harm the cadets, newborns and the sick."

Sanako snorted and puffed on her little stick of death. "Yeah, ok," she muttered, adverting her astonishing eyes.

"Which means the pack you have on you is your last until the new week begins," Aria responded coldly.

Sanako's ears flattened and the ashes on the end of her cigarette glowed with embers. A hearty laugh escaped from Anna, startling Aria for a brief heartbeat. Sanako shoved the pegasus's side that hardly moved Anna; whereas the gray mare pushed her playfully back with only her wing, which sent the smaller pony nearly three feet away.

Aria felt a soft twinge and bit her cheek to stop her smile. She was _not_ going to grow close to these unruly mares. Nor would she even grow to like them. She hated them, for now and for always.

"Every three weeks we receive letters from family or friends who've evacuated to distant lands such as Saddle Arabia or Trottingham," Aria continued, turning away from them as she took off again. The squelch of mud under her hooves would get annoying eventually if all they got was rain for the next few weeks. "We all bathe and relieve ourselves further into the forest to keep our area clean and healthy."

"Question," Silver's heavenly voice said.

"Ask away," Aria answered without stopping.

"What if we decide not to follow Luna anymore?"

A deep chill rocked Aria to her core as she whipped around. Silver looked smug and her followers seemed intrigued; even the strange unicorn in the back had their dusty ears perked.

Aria glanced quickly around; a couple of soldiers who had been sitting around dirty fires looked at Silver Star as if she had sprouted an extra pair of wings and another head. The earth stallion of the two narrowed his eyes and rested a hoof on the hilt of a knife beside him. Aria quickly hooked Silver around her neck and rushed her over a few more paces away from any pony else.

"Why would you say such a thing?" she asked the pegasus in an angry whisper.

Silver swiveled her ears calmly and smiled in a rather infuriating way. She raised one of her wings to the height of her head and her group stopped before they could flank Silver again and stared at the two mares facing off. A white glimmer of aura from Sanako's horn illuminated her dark and greasy mane and her pale pupils flicked from Silver and Aria repeatedly. Anna's jawline was tense and her wings were folded, stiff at her sides. Even the bandaged unicorn seemed distressed, digging at the mud which appeared to have dried around their hooves.

"It was a simple question," Silver Star insisted softly, her one eye staring deep into Aria's.

 _Every time this blasted pegasus opens her mouth its like cold water through my veins_ , Aria thought, furrowing her brow and feeling heat bubble in her chest and face. _Nopony should be this calm in a war; I don't care how many battles she's fought in or won. She is cocky and selfish and—_

Before Aria knew what she was doing, her horn flared to life in the depths of Silver's eye, her blood-red dagger was against the pegasus's throat and Aria's magic gripped the joints of her wings; a magical barrier surrounded them both and Aria clenched her teeth and her heart pounded. It felt as if fire and fury fueled every nerve in her body. Silver's group hadn't moved, too stunned from the sudden violence on Aria's behalf; yet a little more confusingly, none of them looked particularly interested in interfering. Silver herself merely lifted her chin and she stood still.

"I suppose this means questions aren't allowed," she murmured, lifting her brows.

Aria pressed harder into the mare. Yes, she should bleed; show all of them she was merely mortal and not untouchable and definitely not this Republic's last hope for victory. Aria was Luna's weapon. Princess Luna didn't need the foal back in the war room and she didn't need these pathetic, disheveled mares whom had no respect nor gratitude to be invited into the Republic.

 _Her Highness only needs_ me, Aria's mind boomed.

And that was when the pain slithered from her horn to her neck to her chest and shoulders. A brief slice of coolness and then a violent, racking agony that burned and screamed with white-hot intensity. Aria's magic faltered, red sparks crazed in her eyes and a deafening ringing clouded her head.

Her dagger dropped to the mud as a sick warmth ebbed her pain. It plitted to the churned ground and as far as Aria could tell, she was bleeding only from around her neck and chest. The muscles of her shoulders and stomach were taught and she felt ill. After the warmth from her own blood was felt, thorny pricks of ice nicked at the edges of her wounds. She sat back with a gasp, panting and blinking back the tears that swelled in her eyes.

"It's not particularly polite to press a knife to another's throat for minor inquiries," Silver said bitingly. Her voice was darker than before. All the comfort of it from before seemed to drip off her lips and leave behind an aftertaste of something foul.

"And it's not _particularly polite_ to injure your superior."

With a wince, Aria turned her head as a tall purple-furred unicorn paced forward, his black-metal helmet gleaming in the light of the moon. His dark eyes were faded into his mane and fur, but they still caught every star in the sky, a cold glassy surface of his being.

"Shadowbane, it was my fault—" Aria began, only to be cut short as he took another step toward the mares.

"I beg of thee, _please_ do silence yourself," he muttered softly to the side to her. "You mares — I will guide you to your resting areas and fill in on any questions you may have."

The group looked stunned momentarily but as Silver followed Shadow, Aria was left staring at their retreat. No word nor glance was thrown back to her.

 _That dumb warhorse…._

The dull throb in her sides sent her to her hooves and she wiped at the wounds gingerly. They were all shallow; minor cuts at most. Nothing serious, however if she continued to move and let them heal haphazardly they would scar.

 _I've got too many of those to even care at this point_ , Aria thought, snorting softly. She sighed, looking at her home. Dark tents. A looming castle at least half a mile behind her now. An unwavering yet dying moon. All of it, a part of her for as long as she could remember.

A brief, blinding flash and scream set her gaze to fall onto the mud that gulped at her hooves. Suddenly she wasn't the war-worn mare, renowned for being Her Highness's go-to soldier despite her rank.

Aria was back to then, when the war was young and full of unknown fear. She had lived in Ponyville, always moving between Canterlot and the small town due to her parents' indecisiveness. Her two little brothers were ugly, little and rowdy but she loved them both if they were on one of their good days.

Aria's father was hardset. He had many old injuries that haunted his frail, callused body, and his fur was like dragonsmoke. His mane was black like the pits of a predator's eyes and his eyes were as bright as pure gold. Aria's father, Storming Song, was an earth pony, which is where her dominant traits arose from when she was born.

Aria's mother, Flaming Moon, was a guard for the Lunar Princess. She was a soft-hearted unicorn with gentle eyes and a kind touch. Her fur was a modest orange and her mane was whitish with slivers of deep blue. Her eyes were arctic pools of heaven and Aria couldn't remember who had called them that.

Aria's brothers, Chorus Night and Melodic Dance, were like her. Dark fur, dark manes, piercing eyes. Night was a unicorn and Dance was an earthpony. Both were almost unbearable but now she wouldn't hesitate to do anything to have them back. To have any of her family back.

"Ma'am?"

Aria lifted her eyes to see a gray-furred flight cadet.

"Oh, Rumble," she muttered. "What is it?"

The pegasus opened and closed his wings, shuffling his hooves. With his dark uniform and ugly cadet cap, he looked ridiculous as did all the young bloods.

"Have the scouts in the Solar Empire reported back?" he asked at last, squishing a small mound of mud with one of his back hooves. His ears flicked back and he flushed lightly. "Um — ma'am."

"No," Aria answered immediately. She lifted her chin and set her brows. "We aren't expecting any reports unless something extreme occurs in the Empress's domain."

Rumble's shoulders fell.

 _Oh, blasted moons_ , Aria realized as Rumble looked at his hooves with distressed, pale purple eyes. _He's asking about Thunderlane._

"But — uh," she fumbled as the cadet began to leave. He paused and Aria pushed forward. "I'm sure we should be receiving letters soon from all over."

The cadet nodded half-heartedly and saluted her before taking off. Aria smiled sadly at his back and turned to walk back to the castle.

The seventh bell rung solemnly over the camp as soldiers, officers and simple residents filed their way to the eating tents. Aria wasn't hungry enough to follow in their wet march.

Her princess was more important than food, regardless of how long she'd gone without eating.

Aria swerved out of the way of ragged ponies; mares guiding their young with weak knees and stallions with scarred faces and fresh patches or pus-riddled wounds they refused to clean so it'd scar. These were her ponies. These were her brothers and sisters. She was part of a family. A broken, battle-worn and ugly and sick family, but a family all the same.

Aria was one with the Republic, fighting for the right way and the right ruler. Fighting for Her Highness, Princess Luna.

A loud squash and a skid indicated a messy pegasus landing as Aria continued on her way.

"Evening, Reign," she greeted politely.

"Hey," Blaze said as she flicked mud from her white hooves with slight disdain. "Where's the hell-hounds?"

"With Shadowbane."

"Thought you'd be the one to tame them and tie them to their cots, not your coltfriend."

Aria snorted.

"What? You two are practically married with the way you both flank each other," Blaze laughed and resettled her wings.

A silence encased them as each drowned their minds with thoughts. Twenty-minutes passed.

The goddess-awful squelching of their hooves silenced once they got closer to the castle. There was a specific time that castle guards ate so there would always be somepony with the princess. Aria couldn't remember when.

"I'm going to have an audience with Her Highness to discuss the conscripts," Aria said softly as they passed a few of the guards on post.

"I thought the matter had been discussed thorough enough," Blaze said in return, raising her brows boredly.

"She didn't _discuss_ shit," Aria replied. Blaze cackled so suddenly that Aria barely withheld her flinch.

"What?" she asked the pegasus as they entered the castle. Crimson Lock and Hourglass were replaced by two unicorn sentries whom Aria didn't know.

"Her Highness said a whole lot more than you think, Weaver," Blaze said as their hooves clicked against the marble floors. "You need to watch her less and see others more."

Aria flushed and raised her chin as the two of them entered Luna's war room.

The dark blue alicorn was glaring at her table, her horn glimmering with blue magic as a battalion of turquoise sentinels marched through the Alliance and into the heart of the Solar Empire. The turquoise holograms were swiftly stained red the further they went and soon the whole army was bloodied and fallen. Her Highness scowled and shook her head, sending a scattering of shooting stars in her mane to streak across space.

"What is it, Commander Spellweaver?" the princess asked, monotone.

"Your Highness, deepest apologies for intruding," Aria said as she walked closer to the circular table. In the corner of her eye, she could see the youngest of the conscript party. She was curled up on the floor, blubbering about something and holding her head. Aria frowned and stepped beside the princess, ignoring the other unicorn. Blaze set herself on the opposite end of the table, inspecting the holograms thoroughly.

"I wanted to speak with you about my thoughts on the veteran and her company," Aria stuttered, briefly glancing at her ruler.

"There is nothing to speak of," Princess Luna said swiftly. "They are accepted into the Republic on behalf of my trust that they will protect my ponies and support our cause."

"Your Highness," Aria said, her voice full of strain. Arguing with her princess would not end well. "These mares can't be trusted at all. Silver Star asked what were to happen if they chose not to follow you anymore. We don't _need_ their toxic hides."

"Actually, we need more of them," Luna sighed, rubbing her tired eyes. She paced away from the table, looking at her multiple Equestria maps, all territories lined with respective colors to who owned them. Pins indicated posts and "X"s showed battles. If the X was in blue, the Republic has won. If not, then the Republic has lost. Photos and drawings of the other princesses scattered the rest of the walls; posters pleading for assistance and other war propaganda were amongst them.

"What?"

"I have been thinking of hiring mercenaries," Her Highness continued. "Violent stallions and mares who's kill anything and anypony for bits or food. Loyal, not so much, especially if another pays them higher. But I doubt any of my enemies can outpay these monsters."

Aria stared at Luna's back in shock. More mercenaries? Unknown foreigners who could easily kill the Republic's leader if another offered more?

"Blazing Reign, send out a message to the Badlands and our southeastern posts. Anypony willing to be hired as mercenaries are welcome here."

Aria's stomach clenched as she watched her friend go.

They were all doomed if they let a single hoof of an outsider in the Republic, Aria was sure of it.


	5. Chapter 4

Equestrian Warfare

Chapter Four

The mercenaries were scheduled to arrive three nights later. Thirty-two legions had responded to Her Highness's order within ten hours, and another eighteen within the next six.

Aria stayed inside the war room all of the last night, twiddling with her dark dagger that seemed to be used far more on Silver than any other pony. Aria would narrow her eyes if one of those blasted mares came in, seeming to inspect the dumb unicorn that would not _stop muttering._ They would hold her face, brush the mane out of her eyes and stare at her for a long while before whispering to her and then leaving. Nopony saw Aria in the corner; nopony saw Princess Luna's scowl as they touched her precious subject.

Blaze had told her to see others for what they do and not pay attention to the princess, but Her Highness was all that Aria _could_ see. In all her violent beauty, the moon princess was everything that was perfect. Everything that mattered. It felt as if Aria's soul had been linked to Luna's ever since she swore allegiance to the Republic.

Luna was all that mattered in the war. She was a strong, beautiful and understanding alicorn. She held power that Celestia herself could never possess. Princess Luna _was_ truly _everything that mattered._

Aria's dagger slipped from her aura the longer she stared at her leader. She fumbled and caught it before it could clatter embarrassingly loud in the chamber. Her heart was racing and finally a brief release of pressure lifted from her mind and a thousand words, pictures and thoughts clouded her eyes. None of it made sense and soon after a bright twinge of pain hit Aria below her horn and they were gone. She sighed and rubbed her temple, cool peacefulness ebbing the slight rush of panic she'd felt before.

"Spellweaver," Her Highness's voice murmured into the empty room.

Aria immediately moved forward from her place against the wall and stood alert at the tactics table.

"Yes, princess?"

"Do you trust me in that I am doing simply what has to be done to protect my world?"

Aria frowned, watching the alicorn observe the odd unicorn. The pure fur and unscarred face and clean breath she held, none of it made sense in a polluted and fucked-up world as this.

"Yes, Your Highness," Aria said at last, sucking in a low breath to keep her trembling heart steady. Although Aria admired her princess with extraordinary passion, she was still terrified of saying everything wrong in front of her and of the sheer power Luna possessed. "Your word is law to the Republic and to me as well. We are all solely loyal to the moon."

The princess made a strange noise; it sounded like something between an exasperated sigh and a stale laugh. "Yes, I am aware. But a few nights ago you seemed so displeased after I had ordered the summons for mercenaries. I am curious as to why." Princess Luna turned her dazzling, bright eyes on Aria and everything seemed to feel right. Warmth and cold filled her from the hooves up and she looked into her princess's eyes with total devotion.

"My princess," Aria said in an odd voice. "I had believed that maybe if we brought in mercenaries, a few could be secretly under another princess's rule and be ordered to assassinate you." She felt lighter than air.

"I see. Well, you needn't worry about such things."

"As you wish, Your Highness."

The peace and warmth left the second Luna's gaze broke from Aria's. She shook out her mane and weariness weighed at the bottom lids of Aria's eyes. She rubbed at them softly with a hoof, stifling a yawn.

 _Nothing is more important than Luna_. Aria glared tiredly at the "villain wall" as Blaze called it. Hollow eyes of the deceitful leaders that dared betray Her Highness. Twilight...Cadence... _Celestia_. Horrid creatures.

Aria's head whipped towards the entrance doors when a deep bang resonated from them and she readied her dagger, but lowered it at once when General Applejack trudged in.

The orange warhorse was a tall, gnarled being. Dark red and pink flesh wrinkled across one of her forelegs, chest and the entire left side of her cheek and neck. Her left eye was milky and dead. Her snout was rippled with scars and her shoulders bulged with years upon years of muscles built from harvesting apples and digging and sowing the fields of her old home. The earthpony was a mighty force to be reckoned with, having suffered too many bone fractures and injuries to count but still managing to hold her own for the Republic. Little to no troops died on AJ's watch, _that_ Aria knew from experience.

Aria bowed her head and cleared her throat, her muscles still tingling with the readiness to defend Princess Luna. Applejack nodded gruffly at Her Highness and slapped a thin patch-work of papers onto the large circular table.

The general had pale orange fur where it wasn't torn up by scars or old burns. She wore a deep blue and black uniform, stars of medals and badges glimmering against the dark fabric in the dull light of the room. Her mane was tied back, a faded and dirty red bow keeping her hair secured. In between her teeth was a stalk of wheat, she twisting it as she flipped through the pages.

"Good evening, General," Her Highness murmured, stepping thankfully away from the pathetic unicorn on the floor. "What might these be?"

"T'night's agenda, Y' Highness," the earthmare grumbled in her thick accent, her ears tilting back and forth as she read. "We've gotta lot ta get through b'fore the mercs arrive."

"Who will we be speaking with?" Luna asked.

"Comm'nder Spark an' Corp'ral Sonicboom."

"Ah, yes…." The princess turned her bored gaze briefly over Aria and she stood erect for a moment, ready to serve her. But her eyes solely fell upon the young unicorn to her right.

"I b'lieve since I haven't seen the battle site f' some time now, we've got more cas'lties pilin' up all over the blasted place," Applejack said slowly, narrowing her eyes down at the papers that seemed to irritate her. "Trench w'fare ain't these ponies' spec'lties."

Aria frowned, leaning up against a pillar and rubbing at one of her eyes. She could feel the slight depression in her skin and fur where a scar had made its home. She couldn't remember where she'd gotten it, but sadly most ponies on the field receive scars over their eyes.

"Simple amounts of casualties," Her Highness mused blankly as she stared away from Applejack.

Aria began to tune the world out, closing her eyes as she tilted her head towards Princess Luna. Blaze told her to pay attention to what others were saying, not only the princess. But the princess was _everything._

The shocking bang of the war room's doors rumbled the column Aria was up against but she didn't move or flinch. The stagger of seven hooves and a shuddery set of coughs gave away the two whom entered. Yet she opened one eye, just to be sure.

Commander Spark was a three-legged beast. More scars than fur, it was almost impossible to tell what color his coat used to be. With his age showing how ill and close to his last breath he was, he should have resigned two years ago at least. However Spark was, to put simply, a warlord; he knew every tactic for every situation, and he knew exactly who he had to take into every raid. The only flaw he possessed was that he was dying after being exposed to four heart attacks, three full-on magic burst explosions, and lastly six head traumas. As hearty as he was, there was no possible way he would be able to outlive this war — not at this rate.

On the other hoof, Sonicboom was rather explosive and a repulsive mare. De-winged after getting struck by lightning in a battle against the Solar Empire, the once-general and now corporal led the privates in training alongside, ironically, Sergeant Lightning Dust. Aria had never been trained by either of them, and she had never been on the field with Boom. Aria was thankful for it in all honesty; mainly for the fact that almost nopony would return from the forefronts when she led them. Sonicboom was smart and deadly, but she lacked patience and control and the apparent ability to keep her subordinates alive.

Aria closed her eyes once more the second the shouting began.

"Your Highness," the commander spat, staggering up to the main table. "The Sorceress is becoming restless; her blasted army is cutting us down bit by bit, practically shredding through our front lines on S.A.A.'s southern fields. We've got resources but she's simply burning most of that forsaken farm to ash!"

There was a slight pause, and a hard swallow from General Applejack was heard faintly.

"I know that that vermin ain't burnin' my farm for the fuck o' it," AJ said softly, the noise of her turning through the pages she brought in light in Aria's ears. "She's usin' an old strategy from a long time ago. Exhaust'n."

"Exhaustion? Really?" Corporal Sonicboom asked, her voice heightened in curiosity. "Severed hides, I never thought she'd know of it."

"The Sorceress is a mighty fine opp'nent," the general stated, sighing. "She knows war and all th' fuckin' science be'ind it."

Commander Spark snorted, displeased. "Well if that forsaken alicorn wants to burn her only source of income and food then I suggest we let her. We've got hundreds of trees behind our lines and the No Mare's Land in between our forefronts prevents any of them rushing forward with a torch."

Aria's ears pricked when she heard Her Highness take in a breath.

"Have you consulted our veterans?" she asked lightly.

"The what?" all three leaders asked in unison. The simple mention of those disgusting mares made Aria cringe.

"The veterans," Princess Luna repeated, sturdier this time. Aria opened her blue eyes to watch the alicorn slowly circling the war-worn ponies at her tactics table. "I requested the retrieval of one pegasus elder, and my commanding officer brought forth the assassin Amnesty, the rogue Sanako Helsin, an unknown unicorn whom at the moment I know not their name, and this," she gestured towards the lying mare on the smooth floor, "unicorn who will be soon molded into a powerful addition to our Republic."

"Amnesty?" Commander Spark asked, his red eyes narrowing. "That corrupted _beast_ killed your general before Sonicboom here." He struggled to put his one foreleg on the table to straighten his injured back. "How, Your Highness, could you let these ponies into our territory?"

Aria withheld a nod of agreement. She had no right to give input for she was not part of the meeting, and she was simply guarding her princess from the mercenaries who had yet to arrive.

"At ease, commander," Princess Luna cooed. "I am well-educated in exactly what these mares are capable of. I know all their little quirks and abilities. None of them have anything within them I do not know of."

"You just said you don't know one of them," Sonicboom retorted. "That, 'unknown unicorn.'"

"Indeed. Yet Silver Star made it clear that that unicorn is trustworthy in my domain."

An accumulation of displeasure radiated from each of the ponies and Aria frowned.

"Well, this'll be the first time I've heard of 'em." Applejack snarled, grinding the wheat stalk between her teeth. "What rank are they?"

"Silver Star will be admitted as an officer of the group; the rest shall be minute soldiers," Her Highness said plaintively. "Nopony will be underneath Officer Star except for those commissioned alongside her."

"And what about the other generals, colonels and captains?" Boom asked impatiently.

"They shall all hold their own above her; you all forget an officer is a petty title, hardly higher than a cadet," Princess Luna responded with a wave of her left wing, dismissing it all.

A dull throb echoed in her skull but she ignored it.

"Is there any more we must discuss?" Luna sighed, stopping beside General AJ and looking at her papers. The earthmare frowned and sat up.

"No, Y' Highness."

"Then meeting adjourned," the moon princess said, delighted. She clacked a hoof on the floor and Applejack staggered out, leaving the two others, Aria, the test subject, and Her Highness in the room.

"My princess," Commander Spark began, his horn fizzling with magic. "What is your plan for all of this?"

"Clearly I am aiming to win this war within the next year," the alicorn said. "Why else would I be accepting so many outsiders into my land?"

"I wouldn't know, Your Highness," Sonicboom answered.

"The simple answer would be I would not in any other circumstance." Her Highness paused when the war room's door slid open to reveal a page. "What is it, Featherweight?"

"Uh — f-forgive me, Your Highness," the pale pegasus mumbled weakly. Aria made an attempt to ignore his over-sized ears. Featherweight straightened out his wings and bowed respectfully. "T-the mercenaries, Your Highness. They've arrived. Some of the guards have been stationed to prevent them from crossing the Phasing Bridge, but there are _h-hundreds_ , Your Highness."

Aria felt the tension rise in her shoulders and she scrunched up her snout. She hated how excited the lunar princess looked.

"Excellent! Whom will I be seeing first within the brigades? I was told there'd be fifty legions!"

The page swallowed hard and wiped a bead of sweat off his temple. "Y-your Highness, there is only _one_ leader. He is a valiant one, my princess. He claims all fifty are his and they come from the Badlands."

Princess Luna narrowed her eyes, a sudden coldness surrounding her and the fur on the back of Aria's neck stood on end.

"I see," Her Highness said slowly. "Have four guards escort him in."

Featherweight nodded and skittered out of the room.

The princess sighed and briefly glanced at the other ponies in the room. She straightened her crown, adjusted her veil, and fixed her latticework of diamonds and chains around her neck.

Aria's heart pounded, watching her. Everything that Luna possessed was perfection. She quickly adverted her eyes and focused on her dagger.

Several quiet moments passed, hard breaths from Spark and a series of quiet curses came from Sonicboom.

A chant of armor sliding against itself and hooves marching on stone floors sounded outside the doors of the chamber. Her Highness lifted her chin and set her wings. Aria glared full-heartedly at the doors as they swung slowly inward.

In strode a male unicorn, padded thickly with pale gray armor and a light brown undershirt. Four dark-armored ponies flanked him. Aria stared long and hard at him.

 _Tall, bare hooved — a clydesdale's offspring. Unicorn, brown eyes, gray fur, darker gray mane. Talent mark…._ Aria paused, glancing at it once more. _A heart...split down the middle; one side black, one side white. Unknown meaning. Aloof...cocky, from the looks of it._

"Good evening, Your Mighty Highness," he acknowledged with a pleasant tone as he stopped and stood in front of Princess Luna. "And hello to all you other, over-ranked equines."

Sonicboom and Spark both scowled and tensed up. Aria stopped twirling her knife. Luna merely blinked slowly.

"Good evening," Her Highness answered.

" _This_ is your precious mercenary?" Spark spat, glaring at him.

"Well," the stallion said, tilting his head and grinning. "One of many. Though I'd like to call myself the self-appointed leader of this band of morons."

"I...see," Luna said, flicking her ears back. "What is your name, mercenary?"

"Name's Fiery Mind; at your begrudging service, madame," he gave an exaggerated bow, earning a few snorts of disapproval from the guards around him. "I presume you've got my offer that I've been promised?"

"Indeed." Luna's horn glowed and an enormous chest appeared and slammed into the ground in front of her and Fiery. Aria's eyes narrowed and she flattened her ears.

 _That is well more than they deserve…._

"A year's worth of bits, food and shelter on Lunar Republic grounds. Rights to hunt in the Everfree, and my own allowance of observing training and picking recruits." Luna stared down at the stallion as he flipped open the lid of the chest. The golden bits glimmered faintly and Aria snorted softly.

"Your Highness," Aria spoke up. "Isn't granting these outsiders so much leeway dangerous? These are risky ponies."

"I believe you mean risqué," Fiery claimed smoothly, winking at her.

 _Disgusting,_ Aria thought as she wrinkled her snout at him and pointed her ears forward.

Fiery merely laughed and rubbed at his scruffy beard.

"Anywho; Your Highness," he mused, grinning at her. "I hope you do realize this is payment strictly for myself — unfortunately for you, all four hundred others need payments just like this."

"I fully understand; however they are payed for six months — your payment is one year. Their portions will be significantly smaller than yours, Fiery Mind." Luna smiled, just slightly. "I suppose that will not be a problem?"

"Nah, to Tartarus with 'em," Fiery said, rolling his light brown eyes. "My payment is my business."

"Understood."

"Pardon, Your Highness," Sonicboom piped, snarling at the mercenary leader. "How exactly will this colt be of use to us?"

"Uh, I don't believe ya heard me correctly," he answered, smiling. "I've got four _hundred_ ponies with me, ready to get paid and ready to serve as long as their hearts see fit. Or their contracts, at least."

"Sonicboom, Spark," Luna stated finally. "You are dismissed for now."

The amputees both looked to each other and then to the mercenary. But as always, they obeyed their orders, and both Commander Spark and Corporal Sonicboom left the room.

Her Highness sighed, resettling her wings.

"Sir Mind," she said briskly, "is there anything more you must say before I allow your ponies to receive their payments and sign their contracts?"

"Nah…." He turned his head, looking about the room. His gaze landed on the crouched mare. "Who's that?"

"A subject of mine," Luna responded, raising an eyebrow.

"Why's she on the floor?"

"I wouldn't know." Luna's gaze landed on Aria who was still fuming and clenching her dagger in her fiercely bright magic. "Do you have an issue, Commander Spellweaver?"

"A rather large one, Your Highness," Aria answered slowly, narrowing her eyes at Fiery as he stepped towards the collapsed unicorn.

Aria's heart leapt when Luna briefly glanced back at Fiery and the mare before she paced over to Aria's place against the pillar.

"What seems to trouble you?" the alicorn asked softly.

"These mercenaries are going to run our resources right into the mud," Aria murmured, respectfully adverting her eyes to her own hooves. "Not even the leader treats you with dignity, my princess."

"I am aware of what I am doing," Princess Luna said, straightening herself. She smoothed out her gown and rested her cool gaze on Aria.

The soft pause between Luna and her made the whole world stop. Everything between the alicorn and Aria seemed to be there, that _something_ was there for her to reach out and take.

A twinge of pain behind her left ear and the sounds of the war room filled her once more. Aria sighed and glanced up at Her Highness.

"Aria," the galactic mare whispered.

"Yes, Princess Luna?"

"All will be well. Rest assured that this war will be over within a year." The alicorn had a slight glint in her turquoise eyes and she gave Aria a light smile. "I am old and wise and I know what needs to be done."

"I...trust you, Your Highness," Aria whispered faintly, a slight throb beating through skull.

"You are exhausted," Luna said immediately. A warm wing rested on Aria's back and the princess guided her to the war room's doors. "Go into camp and rest; you are not to be disturbed unless I myself order it."

Pain hit Aria hard in the chest and she stiffened up. She slowly opened one of the doors, her mind fizzling silent as the words from the two other unicorns in the corner bounced off her. Everything was blurred, just slightly as if her whole reality had shifted.

"Yes, Your Highness."


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

 _Further into the skies, you shall find your way... guidance from the stars and moon to keep your heart at bay... darkness shall hold you, moonlight engulf you, listen now my child for here is our song…._

 _Luna._

With a shudder, Aria awoke. She was standing on a lone circular platform, everything past it too dark to see. A heavy pounding weighed the air down and she felt as if she couldn't breathe. When she tried, her breath came struggled and hard, sweat slipping down her neck to her chest. She lifted a shaking foreleg, feeling for her usual bandana. Her hoof pressed directly to her fur and her scars. Aria gasped as tears welled in her eyes, her temples pinching as she tried to focus in her blinding panic.

 _A spell; I just need one blasted spell…._

A pathetic fizzle of bright orange magic escaped her horn, heartbreakingly dying in less than a second.

The pounding grew heavier and heavier until finally, with a wheezing gasp, air flowed into her lungs. With it, bright, relentless light dazzled Aria's eyes and she felt the release of tears down her face; she turned her head away.

 _I'm getting too old for this shit…._

She blinked several times, draining her tears as a slight headache began to form from the repeated exposure to the sun.

 _The sun._

Aria's whole body tensed and locked itself, her forelegs lashing up as her eyes flew open and stared wildly ahead of her.

A vast, broken kingdom lay at her hooves. Blood and gore littered the streets, ponies as thin as dead trees hobbling around and snapping at each other, all of it filling Aria and racking her to her very soul.

Before her was a world on fire; led by the hellbeast Celestia herself.

 _How did I get here? I was...I was just in the Republic! I was with Luna!_

"I was with Luna!" her lips echoed. Her voice carried faintly, it escaping her edged and raw. Aria staggered aside, coughing. A coppery splash hit her tongue as her hacking breaths refused to subside. "L-Luna…."

Tears threatened to drip down her cheeks again but Aria shook her head, wheezing for breath. She bowed herself, opening her eyes at her hooves.

Thick, iron shackles were clamped at her ankles. She lifted her head and now saw the surging crowd of garbed ponies beneath her. Chills hugged her ribs when every single pony raised their heads simultaneously; there were thousands of eyes, all of them piercing into hers. Aria shuddered and tugged hard against the bindings, screaming out.

"Bastards! All of you will _BURN_!"

Stoic ponies in perfect robes in a broken kingdom.

Aria's whole existence was faltering. Chained, set up as a trophy for the Empire, and bound to hell itself; all of it demoralizing and mindbreaking, killing her slowly from the inside out. Screaming from the other side of the walls filled her ears. Blasts and deep explosions were lodging into her forelegs and traveling up her body, sending her into violent shivers. The stench of rotting corpses and old blood and burning hides made her gag. Aria dared to lift her head once more, seeing her gathering of ponies. Along the horizon, a hard swathe of stark black against the sun stood boldly. Even further, just barely peaking over the curvature of the world was the half moon. The darkness was getting eaten away by flashes of red and gold, the black taken down by light.

Breath left her lungs and Aria sobbed, feeling all her hope drip from her very soul.

That was the Everfree, and that was the Republic. Insurmountable walls of flames were devouring everything in their path. Behind the fire rose the thickest, heaviest smoke to enter existence; it was raining ash and melting the very air.

"LUNA!" she screamed, tugging at her prison. Her heartbeat filled her ears until everything around her was pounding, crashing and exploding. The pressure was too great, her snout dripping blood down to her lips and off her chin as her vision blurred. Aria roared again, against the crumbling world and against her deepest foe until….

Silence.

She blinked and raised her head, the weight of chains and the stench of the distant inferno no longer afflicting her. Soothing blackness enveloped her and she welcomed it greedily; gulping down air and inhaling deeply through her nostrils, she felt infinite calm cascade through her body. More tears and more blood pooled from her as she was left floating peacefully in the void.

"When I ordered you to rest, I rather hoped it would not be contaminated by your inner demons," a distant voice murmured.

Aria looked up, a soothing mixture of warmth and cold clamping on her heart as the midnight blue alicorn flapped slowly down from the sky. Luna landed gently on an invisible ground, bare of robes and silk sashes. She wore a thin, velvet crown, and silver horseshoes, as well as a necklace of tiny moonstones mixed with lapis lazuli.

"Your Highness," Aria croaked, awkwardly floundering to land from her floating state. Luna stepped forward and gently pushed Aria's hooves to the floor, though as she landed, her legs wobbled and she felt ill. "M-my deepest apologies —"

" _Hush_ , dear," the alicorn whispered calmly. "This is my duty as your ruler to save you both during your waking hours and during those you spend submerged in your subconscious."

Aria stared at the princess, her heart thrumming in her chest. It was a dream... but everything felt so painfully real. Even the blood dripping off her chin felt warm and thick as if it really were there.

"You fear the death of me," Luna suggested into the space after a long moment.

Aria swallowed, cringing at the prick of pain that announced itself in the back of her throat. "I do," she answered hoarsely. She couldn't stop rubbing at her wrists; the ghost of the shackles still weighing her down and digging into her.

Dreams are a ghastly waste of time, she thought, forcing her forelegs to plant on the ground. They only cause distractions and hesitation — two sure things that can and will get you killed.

"And yet they provide an insight for me," the alicorn said, dragging Aria's thoughts into the open. "Dreams allow me to solely communicate with each and every one of my subjects. Dreams are secret; they are private and secure."

"Unless you connect them to another's," Aria said without processing it. The slight flinch Luna gave confused her and she began to ask something, but a tight discomfort constricted her temples and Aria staggered, pressing a hoof to her scarred eye. It was hot and it pulsed horribly; it was enough to make Aria worry, but soon it was over and Luna was standing poised and regal — all of her previous relaxation gone.

"Dreams are private," the princess said firmly.

Aria bowed her head as Luna's horn glowed along the curls in the bone with white thread. The fabric of the world was curling at the edges of her sight.

"Dreams are secure," Aria finished.

* * *

"Commander Spellweaver."

"Shadowbane," Aria responded groggily, pouring herself a mug of stale, but hot, coffee. The Republic had been hit by a severe unseasonal chill and everypony was struggling to stay warm in the camp. They were all expecting a delivery from Saddle Arabia; a bulk of woven blankets and possibly some smuggled cigarettes if the smokers were lucky.

 _At least the mud got frozen up and we aren't trodding in muck all night_ , she thought bitterly as she took a drink. It was hard to swallow; the distinct taste of coffee grounds was atrocious and it was practically water.

"You've slept?" the dark purple unicorn asked as he stood aside to wait for Aria to accompany him. A steel tray filled with lukewarm oatmeal and a various assortment of fruits was floating in front of him in his whispery aura.

"Aye," Aria answered as she stepped away from the serverpony with a thankful nod. She fell into pace beside the taller, broader unicorn with her own tray that held her tin mug, a helping of sausage and a scattering of faded green leaves.

In truth, her rest was cut short by the nightmare Luna had intercepted. A vague twinge of pain still plagued her chest and forehead, and she was pretty sure she could still smell traces of ash.

They walked in silence for a moment, heading for the dining tents.

"Those mares," Shadow said slowly, catching Aria's attention. He paused as if he struggled for the words. Both the unicorns sat at an empty table near the western wing of the area, avoiding the rowdy privates and cadets and the always-drunk soldiers whom had no other way to cope with the losses of war than with a bottle of whiskey. "The ones Her Highness brought in," he added at last.

Aria merely stared past him, ignoring her food. "What about those mongrels?" She felt ill even thinking about them.

"Well, I haven't seen the wrapped unicorn since the night of their arrival," he said cautiously, taking a wet bite of his oatmeal. Aria chuffed at his disheartened expression. She herself never touched the oatmeal; it was always cold by the time it reached the soldiers, no matter how soon they brought it out. "But...the _others_ …."

"Out with it, Bane," Aria said curtly. As tough and battle-scarred as Shadowbane looked, he was a complete and utter moron when speaking to her.

"Well I saw their leader in her tent, fiddling with a small forge that she seems to have built herself."

"A forge?" Aria asked after a stunned second. "In her tent? Surely you are mistaken?"

"I'm not," he said, and she knew he meant it. "I saw her smithing something."

Aria sighed and took a bite of the sausage. It was tangy and juicy and salty. She knew the serverponies only put out sausage because ponykind within the Republic was having to convert into omnivores, but still there were few of those to be found. However Aria was glad to try meat and fish; not only did it give her subordinates something to gossip about, but the actual meat was more filling than just grasses and hay.

"And?" Aria asked, letting herself relax. The food was warm and it calmed her.

"How are you so mellow about this?" he sputtered. He shoved his oatmeal to the side and leaned over. "You're Aria Spellweaver. You don't sit back and let things happen. You speak your thoughts and you throw your weight around for the best of this Republic. You lo—"

" _Shadowbane Hexer_ ," Aria snapped finally, slamming a hoof on the table. The stallion, surprisingly, fell silent. "Be straight with me here; what exactly is Silver Star doing wrong by building a forge in her living quarters? It'll be her own damned fault of her tent gets burned down to cinders. It will not be replaced if it does. She, I'm sure, knows of this."

"I thought you hated them," Shadow muttered. Seeing such a large and powerful unicorn seem so upset sent a slight ping of pity in Aria's chest.

"I do."

"Then what happened that made you not care?"

"I _do_ care," Aria stressed. "I only see no issue with Silver Star forging—"

She fell silent, the fur on her shoulders prickling.

"She's forging," Aria murmured. "Her talent is weapon-building…."

"Yes," the royal guard whispered, relief edging his voice. "You see my concern now."

Aria simply nickered, got up from the table and retreated, leaving her friend to sit alone and her unfinished food that was beginning to chill.

* * *

"Officer Silver Star," Aria stated coldly, rapping on the tent post with her wrist.

A rustling of blankets and ever-so-light hoofsteps answered her before the fabric slipped aside. The pure white pegasus seemed bored the second her one eye landed on Aria.

"Yes?"

"May I come in?" asked Aria as politely as she could manage. "It is a cold night."

Silver's ears twitched a little.

"Certainly," the older mare responded gently, unfurling a wing and opening her tent flap enough for Aria to step through. As she back inward, Aria paced into a bubble of warmth that hugged her cheeks.

Inside the tent was a warm orange glow, interlacing gently with the deep blue fabric. A desk, a pillow and a cot. Standard in all tents. But in the center was a small stone structure with glowing embers inside; to the left was a hoof-press bellows, and a miniature anvil was shoved deep into the frozen dirt. A bucket of water was behind the forge, as well as a pile of miscellaneous blacksmithing tools.

However dangerous and concerning the mini-forge was, the case of vials and test tubes on the desk was more unnerving. Each was labeled with four different letters, and inside each was small splatters of deep red liquid.

 _Alchemy mixed with blacksmithing_ , Aria thought nervously. _Might as well consider her a pegasus with a unicorn's passion…._

The elegant mare swept over to her cot, which was clouded with a nest of dark purple blankets and silver pillows, and lay down. She nodded towards the velvet cushion in front of the desk and Aria simply stood, politely and silently rejecting Silver's offer.

"How may I so _obediently_ assist you this evening?" Silver asked with a pleasant smile.

"Why do you have a forge in your tent, Silver?" Aria questioned. She paused, as if taken aback by Aria's brashness.

"I was given no rules that conflicted with it," the pegasus murmured. "As far as I know, all passions are accepted and are protected to be acted upon in the New Lunar Republic."

Aria hesitated and Silver pressed on.

"Your... Republic," Silver pondered. "It is strong?"

"Aye."

"So why am I here then?"

A deep falter in Aria's mind made her suck in a pained breath. A hollow buzzing filled her ears.

"Because you were requested by Her Highness to assist the N.L.R. in the Great Equestrian War." The words came haphazard, her voice dying at the end. But Aria still wanted to slash off Silver wings as the mare chuckled.

"So the mighty Moon Princess simply wanted an unneeded and supplies-wasting veteran on her side just for kicks?" she inquired, clearly amused.

"It is as it seems, pegasus."

"What about the others?"

"They were unexpected," deadpanned Aria, narrowing her eyes, " _and_ unwanted."

The small unusual pupil in Silver's left eye swiveled slowly as the veteran thought to herself, black chasing white in an eternal dance. Her metallic mane looked soft and silky; her body still unscarred and in a form that any vain mare would gladly kill for. Even her wings had an aura of perfection around them. She was bare, unlike before when she wore a pastel sweater, except for the same chain and ring around her neck.

"Tell me," she said at last after Aria had gone over her mental notes on Silver once more. "Do you _truly_ believe that the Republic is strong on its own? As in, without me and my companions and even the hundreds of mercenaries setting up camp out there right now. Is your precious moon-oriented world, positively self-sufficient?"

Aria frowned at last, feeling her temples pinch.

 _This mare is the apocalypse in the flesh…._

"I never wanted you beasts here," Aria growled lowly. "I despise you and your company; even the young one in Her Highness's presence at this very moment I loathe. I never wanted the mercenaries here, I never wanted you here. But I will never disobey Princess Luna. She is my ruler and she is the heart of this Republic."

There was a brief pause and Silver resettled her wings.

"Why are you _really_ here, Commander Spellweaver?" the pegasus asked softly.

"Because one of the guards was concerned about the forge," Aria grumbled, starting for the tent flaps. "Clearly you're causing no harm with it so I will put their worries to rest."

"All right," Silver said with another smile. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Aria replied and then, as she left, under her breath, "… _monster_."

* * *

Aria sat on a tree stump, far away from the castle and in a clearing looking over the distant lands, staring up at the moon. The air was cool against her fur and the sky was clear. Twinkling stars and dusty nebulae were visible.

Further along the horizon she could see the night sky fading to dusk and then to a bright, burning blue. The Republic fading to Twilight's Alignment, and lastly the forbidden Solar Empire.

Something churned in Aria's abdomen and she held her stomach pitifully. Something wasn't right; something in her was fighting herself and it was tampering with her duties. Her horn sparked to life in the usual bright orange flare and the glow encased her stomach. Aria closed her eyes and focused on herself, breathing slow. Long, painful seconds passed until she finally felt the bile rise in her throat and she vomited. Aria coughed and hacked, wheezing between each burst. Soon, she was empty and she stared blearily at the mess on the dirt beside the stump. Brownish splatters mixed with deep red stained the ground and she shuddered. Aria wipes at her muzzle and froze when she saw little bits of black in the bile.

 _Bloody vomit isn't good,_ she thought weakly, _but bloody and black puke is definitely concerning…._

A painful ringing filled her head, scattering every thought and every memory. She held her head and sucked in panicked breaths.

The headaches had begun a long, long time ago. She couldn't remember exactly when. Perhaps somewhere near the eighth battle between the N.L.R. and the S.E. Or maybe it was around the time she got the slashing scar over her eye. Nothing past the last four weeks was clear enough for her to determine, as if it was wrapped in fog and dipped in opaque water.

"Wonderful night, isn't it?"

Aria whipped around, her dagger whistling out of its sheath. She stopped, feeling an odd relief at finding the mercenary she had had the displeasure of meeting.

"Aye…" she answered hesitantly. "It's always night here."

"That don't keep it from being wonderful," the gray unicorn retaliated with a smirk. He shook in his green magic a package of Republic-brand cigarettes and paced over to Aria's stump. "Moon's always easier t' look at than the sun."

"How can you even _mention_ such a thing," choked Aria, sickened at the brief flash in her head. The chains, the stench of rotting gore and smoke….

"Oi, I lived in a place that barely got anythin' _but_ sun," he chuckled. "Bug huntin' an' shit."

"Bug hunting?" she asked. "Sounds… foalish."

"Not the kind you're thinkin' of," Fiery said, flicking open a lighter and pulling a cigarette from the blue package. A couple of clicks later he was breathing in nickertine and puffing out smoke. "Nasty bitches, them changelings. We were almost put to shit when King Thorax ascended the throne. Hardly any homicidal buggers to take out and get paid for."

"You hunted changelings?"

"Aye," he grinned and sat on the dirt. "Good money when their blood is used for medicine and everythin' else is self-explanat'ry."

Aria frowned and sat down as well, staring at the land before her.

"You're all beasties."

Fiery Mind cackled, his head throwing back and his shoulders shaking. Aria glanced at him and felt herself tense up.

"Lass, that ain't the half of it," he said between breaths as he took another drag of his glowing cigarette. "That ain't the half of it."

Aria frowned and sighed.

 _I'm in a world filled with bastards…._


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The sound of staticky music drifted slowly from the dimly lit tent from outside. Aria lay on her back, her eyes lidded and her jaw locked. Her breath was slipping in and out; slow and steady like soft ocean waves.

Aria's tent wasn't anything special, a tad bigger than most at best. She had three hanging lanterns — slung from the front and back posts, a desk, a dresser, and a duffel bag full of useless possessions of hers. Hidden under her cot was a chest with her armor and padding. And buried under _those_ were her weapons.

In a cloud of flame-orange aura was Aria's dogtags. They clinked softly as the stamped strips of metal slid and connected with each other, she twiddling them at the end of their chain.

 _Why did I even attempt that with Fiery?_ Aria thought bitterly, one of her hooves rubbing at her bandaged stomach. _What is happening to me?_

* * *

"That ain't the half of it."

Aria's ears flicked back, tension seizing her chest.

"It's because you're a _brute_ and enjoy torturing changelings," she muttered under her breath. Fiery puffed out a small halo of smoke, clearly having heard her comment.

"Hey now, I never said we tortured 'em," he drawled as the nickertine ebbed at his brain. "We jus' treat 'em like little beasties, that's all. Barbed hooks to secure the legs while I, so mercifully for y'all's sake, blow the damn bugs' head to shit."

"But the changelings are reformed," Aria snapped, turning on her stump to glare him directly. She didn't trust her peripherals to keep her safe around the mercenary _overlord_. "There's no reason to hunt them anymore."

"Didn' I _jus'_ say that our business was fallin' to hell 'cause of that goody-four-hooves Thorax?" He levitated his cigarette from his teeth and looked at it in bewilderment. "I _did_ jus' say that. Damn! I'm so glad _somethin'_ listens to me when I speak!"

Aria rolled her eyes and snorted, shaking out her mane.

"Don't get all feral with me, sister," Fiery snickered, clamping his stained teeth on the butt of his cigarette once more. "Not fuckin' interested."

"Excuse me?" Aria sputtered, curling her scrap of tail closer to herself. "Where did that come from?"

"It's in yer eyes," he muttered, flicking his dull brown eyes to her. "That kind of ferocity ain't nothin'." He ran a bared hoof through his dark mane, the exhaled smoke swirling in the dim light as he moved. "Seen that shit far too often in this damn republic."

"I don't know what you're talking about, you illiterate mule," Aria spat icily, wrinkling her snout at him. He chuffed dryly, leaning against her stump. He blew a thick cloud of smoke into her face.

"Ya need to get fuckin' laid," he answered. "Ya old hag, get yer stifles out there and loosen up."

Aria's whole body was pricked with freezing indignity and then a wave of furious warmth. As quickly as before, Aria tackled Fiery, feeling his cigarette ash rub into her fur as the two tumbled down the forested hill. Her shoulders slammed into a few out of place rocks and the stallion grunted as his head grazed the stumps lining the rugged pathway. Aria's magic was sparking with anger, fumbling as she tried to wriggle out her dagger from its sheath. Fiery's own odd green magic flickered with each hard slam into the frozen dirt. Further and further they fell, until finally they reached the base of the incline where the forest ended and withered into another Lunar camp.

Somehow, the stallion had landed on top of her, his jaw clenched and his gaze stony. He forced out a thin laugh and whispered to her, "Stupid mare made me lose my cigarette." Fiery peered down at her before backing off spastically, Aria's knife whizzing up to slice at his snout.

"Get the hell off me," Aria snarled, pushing herself to her hooves. She could feel the bruises forming on her back and shoulders as she glared at him. The stallion seemed more confused than before, rubbing at his head and the back of his neck.

Aria kind of wish she'd thought of breaking it on their descent.

 _Still can if I really want to,_ she thought with a inward smile. _One quick crunch and he's gone forever._

"Ya really are uptight," Fiery said, plucking his pack from his pocket. He shook it lightly and flicked a cigarette out, lighting it with a tiny burst of magic. "Was no need to be aggressive."

"You spoke to me like a _whore,_ " Aria hissed. "I am ranked above you, Fiery Mind, and I will not be susceptible to your outlandish ways." Aria flinched as a tiny line of pain flickered across the front of her skull. She scrunched her eyes shut until it was gone; her horn lit up and unsheathed her two swords, putting her dagger back in its holster on her left hind leg.

"A swordsmare, eh?" the stallion nickered, his eyes widening in amusement. "Thought ya was just a _butterknife_ kind o' pony."

A distant rumble sounded and Aria glanced up, seeing thick midnight clouds broiling to swallow the moon. A tiny plip of cold water landed on her snout and she grimaced.

 _More rain,_ she thought in distaste.

As the droplets became heavier and larger, it didn't take long for the dirt to sink into itself as a squelching, slippery muck in the building downpour. Aria flicked her wet bangs out of her eyes.

"I have some toys myself," Fiery prodded, raising a brow and tossing a large stick-like item — that seemed to be made of metal and wood — and his saddlebag that had descended with him off to the side. He unsheathed two blades in his green magic, a bolo and a twisted dagger. "I guess ya could call me a swordspony too."

The two stood and stared at each other, the four blades they wielded growing slick. Droplets soaked into their hides, dripping from the edges of their bodies and weighing them down. A faint wind blew, scattering the raindrops sideways.

"Ya gonna jus' stand an' stare?" piped the stallion, letting out a chuff. "I got five minutes bef're I gotta head off." He swiftly readied his weapons to his sides.

 _I should back down,_ Aria thought suddenly, her eyes widening. _Luna wouldn't want me hurting her new plaything._

Her falchions twitched downward, her heart trembling. Fiery's ears flicked forward, he tilting his head at her. His cigarette had died from the rain, but he still clenched it in his teeth. She let out a puff of hot breath, it clouding in front of her snout.

 _But,_ another thought flickered through her jumbled head, _wouldn't letting him get away with speaking to me in such a way cause a superiority issue?_ The grip of her aura on the handles of her swords grew tense and her jaw locked. _I could end up leading his mercenaries into battle. If I do not punish him, my authority will mean scat!_

Aria's legs lurched under her, throwing her forward as one sword guarded her right and the other drew a line in the rain, slicing down the front of Fiery Mind.

 _CLINK._

Fiery smirked as he easily flicked his bolo to stop her blade, shoving it aside as he twisted himself, planting a kick and knocking her back.

"That it, lass?" he asked with a laugh. "If so, ya might wanna get a li'le more trainin' in!"

"Hardly," Aria growled, regaining her footing in the churning mud. "Just keeping you on your hooves, outsider."

Fiery grinned as he dashed to her, zigzagging in the mud causing spatters of it to streak up his legs and he flipped his dagger to its hilt, jabbing at Aria's flank. She leapt to left, skidding on the mud, slipping and landing on her side. Mud sloshed thickly against her skin and fur, clumping in her mane. She swung one of her falchions at his underside from her place on the ground.

Fiery grunted as the back of her sword propelled him upward as he jumped at the same time. He landed a few paces away, reaching under him and pressing against his stomach. Aria got back to her hooves, panting softly as he glanced up at her and sneered.

"This'll be fun."

Aria's aura burst into a double sized field, an orange blast of magic singeing at Fiery's snout as he rushed to her. She appeared once more beside him, grunting with force as she swung her left hindleg to kick him. Fiery twisted and used his forehooves to block the kick, chuckling, "This way, eh? Close quar'ers are my special'y." He gripped her leg and Aria's eyes widened as he swung her to the mud like a rag doll.

 _He's strong,_ Aria thought as he delivered a punch to her right ribs. She grit her teeth as he punched again and aimed both of his weapons at her. _At this rate, he's going to break my ribs and incapacitate me. I'll lose._ She could feel the heat of the magic from his horn and with each punch, her own aura flickered. _He knows he's strong… he knows I'm vulnerable in this position. But…._ His blades whirled as he flourished them, dipping them for her neck, a sadistic and breathless chuckle escaping his throat as he pummeled her ribs. Aria squeezed her eyes shut as one bellowing thought took control of her mind and body.

 _But I am STRONGER!_

Aria's horn burst with energy as her body seized, jolting Fiery to stare at her and pause his weapons' advances and his punches. He narrowed his eyes as Aria's body curled inwards and her hindhooves tucked against the small dent in his armor along his stomach. She let out a long shout of effort as her hindlegs slowly and shakily lifted the large unicorn stallion, his forehooves leaving the ground. Aria's falchions slid pommel-first into the space between them and both swords' hilts and her legs shoved Fiery off, he staggering away and coughing.

As the mercenary leader moved, holding his chest, Aria leapt to her hooves. Fiery grimaced and he locked his eyes on her. Aria immediately felt his weapons dart past her and return to him.

Aria gasped a second later, faltering as flowering pain spread from her left shoulder. She flicked as much mud as she could off one of her forehooves before pressing it against the blossoming wound and removing it to see her dark blood smeared across it.

"That was a cheap shot," she hissed softly. Fiery shrugged, twirling his twisted dagger.

"Yer strong, I'll give ya that," he said, slipping past her comment. "Not too shabby." He blew the dripping drops off his lips and snout, blinking past the rain. His legs stood firm in the mud whereas Aria struggled to stand.

The cut in her shoulder wasn't deep, but the battering downpour stung and left tiny shocks to wrack her muscles. She grit her jaw, displacing her weight on her other three legs and lifting her hoof just slightly off the ground.

"I could say the same for you, despite your ethics," she said through her teeth. She took a pace forward, biting and fighting the pain that streaked from her shoulder to the nape of her neck.

"I'd jus' repaired my armor, by th' way," the stallion crowed, tilting his head as if analyzing her steps. Aria Spellweaver barked a cold laugh, rain pattering down on her tongue.

"Good to know," she mused, "that you'll be wasting your bits on something as pathetic as body armor."

"I did it m'self," Fiery deadpanned, rearing up on his hindlegs and kicking the blurry air. Dual curved blades flicked out from his fetlocks, curling like a dragon's claws. He landed back on all fours, taking a couple steps and leaving gouges in the mud where rain was quick to pool into. "Not ev'rythin' is money."

Aria stood dazed at the new weaponry from his hooves as the stallion jumped to her, outstretching his forelegs with the glistening claws aimed for her throat and snout. Floundering with effort, Aria backed away, forcing her stunned legs to move her out of harms way. She didn't trust herself enough. As a precaution, her dual falchions preformed another cross-guard in front of her, her magical grip tightening and preparing for impact.

She was right to doubt herself. Fiery's bolo (which Aria had been so foalish not to keep track of) slammed down on her swords, pulling her sideways as the metal caught against each other. His dagger zipped to her exposed side and his hoof-blades whirred through the rain, close behind.

Three slivers of pain spread and leaked from Aria's flanks and stomach. She gasped and delivered a hasty _crack_ to the mercenary's cheek, throwing him back with the pommel of one of her swords. The stallion staggered sideways and held his jaw for a moment, blood dribbling past his hoof and his brow furrowed, while Aria was quick to wrap a foreleg over her abdomen. She could feel the dull throb through her whole body. She pressed harder and sucked in a pained breath, wires of fire entwining in her sides. Blood blotted into her leg.

"You dirty bastard," Aria growled, tentatively removing her leg from her wounds. Like the sliver on her shoulder, the cuts underneath weren't deep, but somehow the flesh was torn and irritated enough to bleed thoroughly.

"Well I _am_ a li'eral bastard, so I might as well act like it," Fiery mused, flicking his claws and examining them thoughtfully. "Ol' Pa had a name like Phoenix somethin'-or-another, I f'rget." He rolled his eyes and set his hoof down, looking bored. "Suppos'dly an infamous swordspony."

"I guess that isn't uncommon," Aria muttered, hardly interested. The fury that clung to her seemed to have ebbed down to mere disliking.

But she was far from surrendering a victory to the outlander.

Aria slowly slipped out her knife from its sheath on her leg as Fiery's gaze seemed to wander. It looked as if he himself was no longer interested in the fight, or believing he'd won enough to no longer care. She tilted it back behind herself as she readied her falchions.

The soft clinks caught Fiery's attention. His ears flicked to her and then his eyes. A thin grin spread across his snout as the stallion was quick to lunge, his bolo swirling around his body in a formidable field and his hoof-blades reaching for her once more.

A burst of orange magic and the stallion stopped in his tracks, eyes wide.

Aria smirked triumphantly at his expression as she tilted her Bowie closer to his skin on his throat. He lowered his bolo, and the claws on his fetlocks reversed and retracted into almost-invisible sheaths along his wrists as he attempted to move slowly away from her knife. Aria kept the edge pressed to him.

As Aria began to lift her head in victory, however, a point pricked the back of her neck at the base of her skull. Fiery smiled through a gulp.

"S'prised ya didn' track my dagger," he said brightly. His aura flared a tad brighter, the tip worming slightly into Aria skin and prodding forth a rivulet of blood to stream down her neck warmly.

Aria scowled and dropped her weapons except for her knife. The rain was beginning to lighten, though the mud would probably last for days.

"We're at an impasse I suppose," she said grudgingly. Fiery laughed, the pressure from his dagger suddenly gone. The prick pulsed annoyingly.

"If that's all ya got, lass, then I'm afraid so!" He gave her a genuine smile, his teeth stained with blood from his cut lip. "I've no reason to go all out at this point."

Aria relieved him of her dagger and she sheathed her weapons. Frustration and weariness made her shoulders slump.

She raised her head to suddenly recognize the dozens of Lunars and mercenaries alike watching with wide eyes. Each were soaked thoroughly, giving away how long they all had stopped to watch.

 _Wonderful,_ Aria inwardly sighed, _the morons saw their superior get her hocks hoofed to herself._

"All right you lousy patrons," Aria snapped, her voice rugged and authoritative. "Get back to your damn posts before I make privates 'n' soldiers alike participate in drills!"

The ponies were quick to scramble away, except for a few mercenaries whom looked to Fiery expectantly. An earth stallion tossed a bag to Fiery in which he caught with an exchange of low words.

A slight twinge in Aria's chest made her take a step closer to him, her shoulders and brow set.

"Colonel," Aria addressed formally. The stallion turned his head to look at her.

"Yes, Commander Spellweaver?" Fiery answered with a smile.

A small pause as the words caught in her throat.

"Welcome to the N.L.R."

* * *

The memory dissipated in front of her eyes. Aria was back in her tent, her cuts self-patched and her tags suspended in the air in front of her in wispy orange aura.

 _Pointless_ was all Aria could get from the combat. Pointless and completely unnecessary.

"Miss Grumpy-hooves."

Aria's tags dropped to her chest and she sat up slowly to find Blaze standing in the tent opening. Aria sighed and rolled her eyes, laying back down.

"I see you've gotten yourself into another skirmish."

Aria didn't respond.

"C'mon," the pegasus wheedled, stepping over to the cot. She laid a hoof on the edge. "They need you in the medic tent. Monthly reports on injured soldiers."

Aria slid off her cot, tugging her tags over her head and tucking them under her bandanna. She pushed calmly past Blaze, cracking her shoulders and neck.

"All right," she muttered, "let's go."

The night air felt like bliss against Aria's bandages, and the clouds had thinned enough to let a sliver of moon streak its pale light onto the main campsite. During the beginning and end of the moon's life — when it smiled down upon the Lunars — the unicorns within the Republic were required to provide light without fires. Some spread colored lanterns from the entrance trees throughout and others simply illuminated the tips of their horns to provide at most a four-pace diameter of light wherever they walked.

Aria herself had an unusual device she used to spread light in the camp. Before she had exited her tent she tapped the orb. This simply activated it and let it float alongside her, providing orange-gold light that doubled the area provided by a unicorn horn.

The two mares walked through the winding and dwindling path between the growing clusters of tents and personal shop stalls. Stallions of all kinds cleaned their weapons. Some Lunar mares (not necessarily soldiers for some had young foals swaddled on their backs) were assisting a few mercenaries set up their tents. The fabric was a forested green with pinpricks of jade, and the insides seemed to be almost a golden color. As they stepped past, however, Aria was astonished to see some of the jade specks wink out of existence.

 _What in the moon's name…._

Blaze nudged her along once her hoofsteps began to fall behind. Aria continued alongside her friend.

"What are your thoughts on the mercs?" Aria asked as they reached open space behind the army of tents.

"What do you mean?" Blaze retorted. "Haven't you already asked me about my thoughts on this kind of scat?"

Aria nodded. "I have," she said, "I'd just like to know your place because my own has shifted."

Blazing Reign reared up, her wings spread wide as her legs stopped moving. " _You've_ changed your mind?!" The mare stared all around with wide gold eyes. "Are you sure you're Aria Spellweaver?"

Aria chuffed much to her inner dismay and gave her friend an admiring punch. Blaze snorted and smiled, rubbing the impact spot.

"I don't mind them, really," Blaze answered as the medic tent grew closer and closer. "They're a little rough around the edges but they've got cool stuff to trade with."

"Like wh—" Aria's voice cut off as the cooler air within the medical tent hit her snout. The stench of sanitizer and rubbing alcohol, and the light crunch of the constantly watered down tarp under their hooves struck Aria more sudden than she expected.

 _I'll never understand why I'm the one sent here for this kind of thing…._

Soft groans escaped the soldiers on the cots whom were still conscious enough to feel their ailments. Others, like the earthpony to her right with a bandaged head, remained silent and stony, the skin beneath their coats pale.

A renowned nurse, Redheart, was stroking the mane of a little colt whose lacerations along his foreleg were getting sewn up by another medic. His eyes fluttered though still locked on her as she cooed soft words. Aria's stomach churned when she saw other bloody gashes along his body, each red and puffy but stitched closed. Blaze caught her gaze and the pegasus simply frowned.

"Redheart," Aria said, staying in the middle of the aisle between cots. The nurse raised her head, blue eyes meeting blue. "You've requested me?"

It somehow disengaged Aria when the earthmare smiled at her. Nopony was supposed to smile in a room like this.

"Commanding officer Spellweaver and Officer Reign," she whispered, "thank you both for coming. Doctor Fletching has the report for you back in his office."

Aria nodded and tried to ignore the mare's bagged eyes and white-streaked pink mane. The nurse was old — far older than the war itself — and yet she still worked harder than any other medic. Aria didn't want to think about a day where the war would still be toiling and Redheart wouldn't be around anymore.

Both her and Blaze walked to the right wing where a plastic entrance connected a smaller tent to the main one. A pastel green pegasus sat in a large chair behind a desk. Other than scattered notesheets and quills, a tattered and stained doctorate behind cracked glass rested on the dark wood. He greeted the two mares with a nod and folded the letter he'd been examining closed.

"Hello, ladies," Doctor Fletching finally said, his unruly silver mane bouncing as he lifted his head.

"Hello, Doctor," Aria said softly. Blaze only straightened herself in her usual hierarchy pose.

 _Stupid as always,_ Aria thought with a raised eyebrow as the doctor raised his ears and set his shoulders.

"All right," he began with a sigh, opening a cabinet to his right. "Injury and causality reports, due to be observed and given to Her Royal Highness, Princess Luna von Galactica by the second-hundred and third day of the year 1032 since her original and unjustifiable banishment."

"Yes," Aria withheld an eye roll at the lengthy explanation. "Thank you, Doctor."

"Why are _we_ the ones delivering this to Her Highness?" Blaze suddenly asked, examining her feathers. "Why don't you do it? Or get another medic to do it?" Fletching seemed caught off guard because he so very stupidly stared at Blaze as if she had sprouted a horn with googly-eyes.

"Well," he started, pushing a thick folder towards the two mares. "You both are part of Her Highness's personal guard, yes?"

Before Aria could clarify, Blaze nodded.

"Then that's exactly why." Doctor Fletching rested his forelegs on the table, looking at them as if they were old medical books — bored and disinterested. Calculating, like most doctors were. "You both can waltz into Princess Luna's castle without a care in the world. For other ponies like medics and cadets and simple soldiers it can take a full 72 hours before Her Highness would accept any request to enter."

Aria frowned and flicked her ears back. She hadn't realized the security measures that took place around Luna's castle. Well, she had _thought_ she knew, but all of what Fletching said made the world twitch in a way.

A little spark of pain flared in the back of her head and three images clouded the inside of her eyelids. Red hides, broken bones, burning land. Aria flinched and held her head gingerly with her hoof. It throbbed annoyingly. She opened an eye to see past the thoughts as another twinge of discomfort ailed her. She found both the pegasi staring at her.

"You okay, Aria?" Blaze asked softly. "Is it the headaches again?"

"Headaches?" the green pegasus inquired. "Have they been troubling her long?" He began to get up from his seat, but Aria waved him down.

"It's nothing," she grumbled. "I'm fine, sit _down_ Fletching. I'm fi—"

The three ponies were thrown to the plastic ground as rumbles and deafening booms encased them. Fletching's diploma rattled off his desk. Aria saw the glass shatter, but everything was quiet. Her light orb had disappeared somewhere, leaving the room illuminated by the frozen fire. It felt like her ears were stuffed with hundreds of layers of cotton. Her legs refused to move and her mind was racing with everything her training told her.

Find the injured, get her armor, get her weapons, defend her Princess. Kill the opposers. Use the darkness and the moon to her advantage.

Fight.

Blaze was laying beside her, holding her head. Blood slithered down her neck from an unseen injury.

Aria dazedly looked up to see ice and fire in the same place. Fire burning at the cloth of the tent, ice left behind to drop in sharpened clumps of ash.

 _Get up, you moron,_ Aria thought at her legs. _MOVE._

The cotton drained into shouts, screams and sobs. Aria struggled up, yanking Blaze up in staticky magic. Blaze looked at Aria almost as if she had no idea who she was. The two looked around the decimated room for Doctor Fletching. Aria shoved his desk aside to find ice slowly creeping over his wings and back, stabbing into his flesh as he writhed and jerked. His red eyes looked up helplessly at Aria. Blood was pooling from short gash in his throat where more ice began to form. Blaze caught sight of him and grimaced.

"We need—"

"I know," Aria shouted over another careening boom. "C'mon!"

The two mares ran into the medical tent to find half of it collapsed. Redheart was shouting orders to the staff, her eyes full of tears but her voice unwavering. A frozen boulder had landed where the colt they saw at first had been. Dark smears were dripping down the sides of it as the ice began to spread.

Aria shut her eyes and ran out of the tent, Blaze close behind.

More blood, more ice. Shouts of ponies dying, cannons exploding, clashing of spears on armor.

The outermost camp of the New Lunar Republic was under siege from the north.


End file.
